Economic equity news is a weekly round-up of articles by Donna Seymour of AAUW-NYS that features our core values of poverty solutions, opportunity and access, workplace fairness, healthy lives, equal pay and representation at all tables. Sign up for our mailing list to receive this directly to your inbox.
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The Gender Pay Gap Widens as Men’s Earnings Grow Twice as Fast as Women’s via Wall Street Journal
The gender pay gap is widening again because men’s earnings are growing this year at twice the rate of women’s. The median weekly earnings for full-time male workers was $889 in the third quarter, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That’s a 2.2% increase from a year earlier. Meanwhile, full-time female workers’ earnings were $721, up 0.8% from a year earlier.
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Rozic Touts Latest NFL Cheerleader Wage-Theft Settlement via State of Politics
“I want to congratulate the Cincinnati Ben-Gals who stood up for their rights against a patriarchal and abusive system, and won. With 3 out of 5 suits settled in the NFL, that just leaves the New York teams lagging behind. It’s especially embarrassing that in the birthplace of the women’s rights movement, our supposedly iconic institutions still think it’s ok to deny women the same respect and protections as other workers. Do the right thing now!” said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic.
- N.B.A. Cheerleaders’ New Rallying Cry: Better Pay via The New York Times
As the N.B.A. starts a new season this week, the salary cap for players will climb to a record $70 million per team at the same time that a federal court considers charges that cheerleaders have been cheated out of fair pay.
- Syracuse Leader Raises Public Workers’ Minimum Wage to $15, Immediately via The New York Times
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner made her support for raising the pay of the lowest-paid workers more than rhetorical by increasing the minimum wage for the city’s employees to $15 an hour, effective immediately. The move provided some workers with an instant raise of more than 70 percent.
- Women Face Unique Retirement Concerns via North Country Public Radio
A recent study from the group Financial Finesse finds that women, on average, are more than $268,000 short of what they need to retire comfortably. That’s compared to men, who are $212,000 short on average.
Donna Seymour, who hales from the (far upstate) North Country of NYS, has spent 40 plus years advocating for children, women and family issues, equity, sustainability, and social justice issues. Currently serving as the Public Policy VP for AAUW-NYS (the American Association Universality Women), she also is a member the League of Women Voters, the Equal Pay Coalition, PTA, NOW, and Planned Parenthood, just to name a few.