The Villager Newspaper - The Woodlands
Opinions
Letters to the Editor 4/26/06
04/26/2006

'Close the gap'

Imagine walking into your neighborhood store and passing a table with a sign, "Cookies for Sale - 77¢ for men, $1.00 for women."

To match men's earnings for 2005, women have to work from January 2005 to April 2006 - an extra four months. Equal Pay Day takes place each year on a Tuesday in April, symbolizing the point in the next week and year to which a woman must work to achieve pay equity. Her male counterpart must work five days a week for twelve months, whereas she will work seven days a week for sixteen months to earn
equivalent wages.

Women have made remarkable strides in education during the past three decades, which is partly responsible for narrowing the wage gap but these gains have yet to translate into full equity in pay - even for college-educated women who work full time. Unfortunately, the narrowing of the gap between men and women's earnings is also partly caused by a decline in the real value of the wages of men without college degrees.

Pay equity is a simple matter of justice. It is
important that Montgomery County legislators,
representatives, employers and citizens commit themselves to supporting fairness in compensation, equitable access and advancement in employment and vigorous enforcement of employment antidiscrimination statutes. We must support initiatives that seek to close the persistent and sizable wage gap between men and women.

Karen McKibben
The Woodlands