In like a lion... April gives us the chance to recognize "Equal Pay Day" and think/learn/teach about income inequality in the United States.Maine, by statute, recognizes Equal Pay Day on the 1st Tuesday of April (that would be this coming Tues)... Nationally, Equal Pay Day is April 12 this year (the amount of time it takes women to earn what men, as a group, earned in the prior year).
Resources:
- Maine Women's Lobby -- leading advocate for Equal Pay in Maine
- The Wage Project works with girls and women to help teach skills for negotiating higher/fairer wages.
- AFL-CIO on Equal Pay
- ACLU on Dukes vs. Walmart, Paycheck Fairness Act and more
- AAUW research on Gender Pay Gap by State, and more
- Take your Daughter (and son) to Work Day - Thursday April 28
- Teaching Resources for Work and Family topics (geared toward college but adaptable)
Some friends and I watched Made in Dagenham last night -- it is a moving film about the Equal Pay movement in the UK that led to fairer laws/union rules about wages in Industrialized countries... worth watching and totally appropriate for middle schoolers (although might not completely hold their attention) [There is an educational site, recommended for ages 15-19]. It is at the PMA next weekend , and available on Netflix.
