The PowHer® New York Network of 100+ gender and racial justice organizations, in partnership with CWA Local 1180, rallied together with advocates and leaders at NYC Hall for the 18th Annual NY Equal Pay Day and online on March 12, 2024. We called for the end of persistent, historic wage inequality.
The response online and in-person was tremendous.
All day, New Yorkers jumped online to share stats and ideas about closing the wage gap, as did 40 elected leaders and advocates who submitted videos and quotes, including Governor Hochul, Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Heastie, Assembly members, Senators and NYC Council members.
At the rally on the steps of City Hall, we heard from key leaders and stood with co-sponsor CWA Local 1180 and many PowHerNY Network Partners including SAG-AFTRA, A Better Balance, AmplifyHer Foundation, Legal Momentum, Women Creating Change, Community Service Society, ROC-NY and more.
PowHerNY President Beverly Neufeld and CWA Local 1180 President Gloria Middleton kicked off the event by calling for strengthening New York’s salary transparency law and Local Law 18.
Mayor Eric Adams, the first NYC mayor to speak at our Equal Pay Day rally, recalled the unfair pay his mother and sister faced when he was growing up, emphasized his NYC Women Forward Agenda and spotlighted his many female Deputy Mayors. Next, Attorney General Letitia James spoke about the feminization of poverty and how unfair wages for women also affect the family and the economy.
NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams asserted “We want our dollar. Show me the money!”. Speaker Adams underlined that the first female majority City Council would fight to make sure women get our money.
NYC Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers announced a new bill she will introduce with Council Member Amanda Farias which will expand and strengthen pay transparency requirements in New York City. “Equal pay is about more than just compensation for equal work,” she said. “It’s about the idea that our work matters.” The co-chairs of the NYC Council Women’s Caucus, Carmen de la Rosa & Julie Menin, spoke about their commitment to supporting female workers. Council member De La Rosa stated, “What happens when we take a dollar out of a woman’s pocket? We are taking a dollar away from their children, from their families, from their communities, and in my book, that’s called economic injustice.”
Seher Khawaja of Legal Momentum spoke about the importance of pay transparency to empower workers and hold employers accountable. Blue Carreker‘s remarks focused on how women, particularly Black, Brown, and immigrant women, are channeled into care work, a field with huge responsibility and low pay. She introduced Deborah O’Bryant, a home care worker from the Bronx associated with NY Caring Majority, who detailed her experience of working hard for little pay. Blue and Deborah emphasized the negative impact on workers if there are budget cuts to home care work state funding.
To close out the rally, Rebecca Damon of SAG-AFTRA led an energizing chant- “Get up, get down. New York is a women’s town!”
Meanwhile online, elected leaders and advocates mobilized to share information and statements on equal pay.
New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
New York Governor, Kathy Hochul
See the 2024 Equal Pay Day playlist for more.
NYC Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers
“Statistics show that women lose over 400,000 over a 40 year career compared to men. How is that possible? While earning differences between men and women have shrunk over time, it’s not happening fast enough, and it’s created a persistent wage gap that’s hard to overcome. It’s estimated that the current wage gap is 84c to a dollar that a man makes. And those numbers get worse for women of color, LGBTQ women, and mothers. But the Council is working to change that. Last session, we passed laws to ensure pay equity in the City’s workforce. In the coming weeks, I plan to introduce a bill that would strengthen existing wage transparency requirements across NYC. Wage transparency helps both employers and workers identify and close the wage gap. In a city where women make up more than half the population and run most of city government, I think it’s time we make sure women get paid.”
New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
“The gender pay gap is part of a long history of devaluing the role of women in the workplace. My colleagues and I in the Assembly Majority remain committed to fighting for equal pay across the state. We understand that putting New York’s families first means supporting policies that empower women on their path to economic equality.”
Lisa Rivera, NYLAG President & CEO
“NYLAG exists to combat systemic inequities and injustices that trap people in cycles of harm, and the gender pay gap is certainly one of them. In partnering with the individuals and communities we serve, we see the real impacts of those inequities playing out every day, especially as gender intersects with race, immigration status, and numerous other factors that inevitably result in employers paying women — including transwomen — less, or keeping jobs disproportionately filled by women — especially women of color and immigrants — underpaid and lacking in protections. With such deeply rooted systemic inequities, we must advocate for vast systemic solutions like ending the tipped minimum wage, gaining fair pay for care workers, expanding labor organizing rights to domestic workers, ensuring access to affordable childcare and paid family leave for all — including gig workers — and supporting an inclusive New York State Equal Rights Amendment.”
PowHer New York thanks all the leaders who participated in New York Equal Pay Day:
NY State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
NY State Senator Shelley B. Mayer
NY State Senator John Liu
NY Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright
NY Assemblymember Harry Bronson
NY Assemblymember Amy Paulin
NY Assemblymember Kimberly Jean-Pierre
NY Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman
NY Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal
NYC Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers
NYC Council Member Kevin Riley
Rebecca Damon, SAG-AFTRA Executive Director, New York Local, Labor Policy and International Affairs
Laura Sanzel, Westchester Women’s Agenda member
JoAnna Jimenez, Westchester Women’s Agenda member
Lisa Burton, Zonta International District 3 Governor
Donna Seymour, North Country Matters
Beverly Neufeld, PowHer New York
NY Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
NY State Senator James Sanders
NY State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal
NY Assemblymember Catalina Cruz
NY Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes
NY Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi
NY Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick
NY Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg
NY Assemblymember Didi Barrett
NY Assemblymember Michelle Solages
NY Assemblymember Patricia Fahy
Sideya Sherman, NYC Chief Equity Officer & Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice
NYC Council Member Nantasha Williams, Chair of the Committee on Civil & Human Rights
NYC Council Member Julie Menin
NYC Council Member Chris Banks
NYC Council Member Carlina Rivera (D-02)
Sharon Sewell-Fairman, President and CEO of Women Creating Change
Robin Chappelle Golston, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts
Tsedeye Gebreselassie, Director of Work Quality at National Employment Law Project (NELP)
Lisa Rivera, NYLAG President & CEO
Barbara Thomas, Issue Specialist for Equality of Opportunity, League of Women Voters of NYS
Sara Shapiro-Plevan, CEO & Founder of the Gender Equity in Hiring Project
Moriah Engelberg, A Better Balance
Carolyn Martinez-Class, Campaign Manager for Invest in Our New York
Sandy Camillo, VP Public Policy AAUW New York (American Association of University Women)
Bobbee Cardillo, Convener of the Zonta USA Caucus
Special thanks to the Equal Pay Day co-sponsors who helped spread the word online:
CWA Local 1180 and AAUW New York (American Association of University Women) – National Employment Law Project – NMIC – SAG-AFTRA – Westchester Women’s Agenda – Women Creating Change – A Better Balance – Ancient Song – Legal Momentum – Community Service Society – Invest in Our New York – Zonta International District 3 – Gender Equity in Hiring Project – League of Women Voters of NYS – Restaurant Opportunities Center NY – New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) – Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts – Center for the Women of New York – Her Justice – AmplifyHer Foundation – New York Women’s Foundation – Human Services Council – NYLAG – NYSCADV