The pay gap is real, and it’s going to cost you $500,000

The following is a post from Christine Quinn.

Nationwide, American women make on average 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, adding up to nearly $500,000 in lost wages over a woman’s career. African American women can expect to make only 66 cents compared to all other men, and Latinas only 58 cents. These statistics are abysmal. I bet you are as sick as me of hearing them.

But here’s the good news: on November 4th, voters in New York State have the chance to make history. Together, we can vote into office a slate of candidates committed to protecting and upholding women’s rights that are under attack.

The Women’s Equality Party is first political party dedicated to women’s equality. If you, me and 50,000 other New Yorkers cast their vote on the WEP line on Election Day, we will have formed the first ever Women’s Equality Party in the nation, and taken a real, tangible step towards the future. This is about much more than one election. It’s about making a better future for all the women (and men) in New York State.

Last Wednesday, the Women’s Equality Party was joined by the Teamsters Local 237 to talk about the scourge of pay disparity that we are still fighting against here and in New York state. School safety agents represented by the Teamsters — predominantly women — responsible for keeping our children, teachers, and school staff protected at school found that they were being paid $7,000 less per year than their male counterparts.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Teamsters Local 237, President Gregory Floyd, and the school safety officers who stood up to demand justice, those women who protect our schools every day are now getting the pay they deserve.

This is just one of a host of reasons New York needs the Women’s Equality Party and the candidates who have pledged to support our platform.

Women’s Equality Party candidates support issues critical to women:

1. Establish Pay Equity for Women

2. Stop Sexual Harassment in Every Workplace

3. Stop Businesses from Discriminating against Pregnant Women

4. Strengthen Human Trafficking Laws

5. End Hiring and Salary Discrimination Against Parents

6. Stop Landlord Discrimination Against Women Who Depend on Housing Assistance

7. Stop Housing Discrimination for Victims of Domestic Violence

8. Allow for the Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees in Employment and Credit and Lending Cases

9. Protect Victims of Domestic Violence by Strengthening Order-of-Protection Laws

10. Apply the full standards of Roe v. Wade in New York

In addition, these candidates also pledge to support passing new legislation that will subject colleges and universities in New York to new oversight and reform how they handle sexual assaults, including incidents involving rape, that are reported on their campuses

We are proud of this platform and of the candidates standing up to support equality for all women in New York. Join us on November 4th to make history by voting the Women’s Equality Party line.