State lawmakers and business leaders call for legislation to close wage gap in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS — A group of state lawmakers, business leaders and civic groups will conduct a press conference at the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday (January 17) to call for passage of legislation that will help to close a wage gap in Indiana that is the sixth highest in the country.

The press conference, scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Statehouse Rotunda, will feature State Rep. Linda LawsonD-Hammond), State Sen. Jean Breaux (D-Indianapolis), and officials with the Equality Pay$ Coalition of Indiana, the American Association of University Women Indiana, the Indiana Federation of Business and Professional Women, the Indiana League of Women Voters, the Indianapolis National Organization for Women (NOW), and Women4Change Indiana.

The focal point of the event will be to call for passage of two measures (House Bill 1390, authored by Lawson, and Senate Bill 93, authored by Breaux) that will hold employers accountable for allowing wage gaps between men and women workers and give the Indiana Civil Rights Commission expanded authority to investigate and resolve complaints received by employees.

Currently in Indiana, a Hoosier woman makes 74 cents for every dollar earned by a Hoosier man. For minority women, the gap is even larger: 36 percent for African-American and biracial women, and 44 percent for Latinas.