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Economic Equity News: October 7, 2014

1. Latinas’ Equal Pay Day has moved up to Wednesday, October 8

AAUW– The U.S. Census Bureau recently released data on women’s and men’s earnings in 2013, and the 2013 data showed a slight narrowing of the gender pay gap for Latinas. Therefore, the date for Latinas’ Equal Pay Day (the symbolic day when Hispanic/Latina women’s earnings catch up to non-Hispanic white men’s earnings from the previous year) moved up slightly, by about one month.

 

2. Law Expands Living Wage to Thousands More in NYC 

The New York Times– Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to sign an executive order on Tuesday significantly expanding New York City’s living wage law, covering thousands of previously exempt workers and raising the hourly wage itself, to $13.13 from $11.90, for workers who do not receive benefits.

 

3. Unemployed women are more likely to quit looking for work than to find it

Vox– Economists continually fuss over exactly what is shrinking the labor force — retirement, for example, or a job market that discourages people into giving up the job search — but one thing appears clear: unemployed women are more likely to leave the labor force than men right now, according to charts form a new report from Wells Fargo Securities.

 

4. “Access to affordable birth control, safe and legal abortion, and all reproductive health care options are on my #POWHERlist”

NYS PowHER/Family Planning Advocates of NYS– Equal pay is an absolutely critical component of social justice…but without access to reproductive health care, women will continue to lack equal access to the workplace.

 

5. Student loans plus financial illiteracy equals big debts for some older women

Washington Post- Too many Americans are functionally “financially illiterate.”  And, despite the importance of finance in everyone’s lives, the problem is getting worse over time, especially for women.