Assembly Concurrent Resolution
No. 42
CHAPTER 44
Relative to Women’s Equal Pay Day.
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Filed with
Secretary of State
May 03, 2023.
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LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 42, Addis.
Women’s Equal Pay Day.
This measure would proclaim April 2, 2023, as Women’s Equal Pay Day in California, in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, More than 50 years after the passage of the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963, women, especially women of color, continue to suffer the consequences of unequal pay; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Census Bureau, women make $0.82 for every dollar a male is paid; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Department of Labor, the median salary for women in 2020 was $51,000, while the median salary for men in 2020 was $61,000; and
WHEREAS, The wage gap for Black, Latina, and Native American women is under $0.63 for every dollar White, non-Hispanic men make; and
WHEREAS, Black and Hispanic women have the lowest median salary earnings, with Hispanic women earning an average of $39,000 and Black women earning an average of $43,000; and
WHEREAS, Four out of 10 women experience gender discrimination and are much more likely to work a part-time job compared to men; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 4 in 10 mothers are the primary breadwinners in their households, and nearly two-thirds of mothers are the primary or significant earners, making pay equity critical to the financial security of their families; and
WHEREAS, A lifetime of lower pay means women have less income to save for retirement and less income counted in a social security or pension benefit formula; and
WHEREAS, Women continue to be underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and business, as well as in managerial positions, and are overrepresented in teaching, assistant, and childcare occupations; and
WHEREAS, Fair pay in California would strengthen the security of individuals and families today, regardless of education or socioeconomic status, while enhancing our statewide economy; and
WHEREAS, April 2 symbolizes the day in 2023 when the wages paid to women catch up to the wages paid to males from the previous year nationwide; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims April 2, 2023, as Women’s Equal Pay Day in California, in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.