SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WEHT) – The Illinois Department of Labor in collaboration with their community partners, recognized “Mom’s Equal Pay Day” on Thursday.
A release says this day is meant to reflect on the turbulent past of pay inequality between moms and dads by marking how far into the year moms must work to earn what dads did in the previous year.
“A core tenet of the Illinois Department of Labor’s mission is promoting and protecting the wages of workers in Illinois. Pay transparency can help shrink the gender pay gap. Through implementing and enforcing recent amendments to our state Equal Pay Act, the Department hopes to promote pay transparency and equity,” said Illinois Department of Labor Acting Director, Jane Flanagan.
According to the American Association of University Women, moms are paid 50 cents to every dollar paid to dads. This wage gap ratio is even more unequal when it comes to moms of color. An Equal Rights Advocate survey shows more than 50% of Black and Latina moms who struggle more than ever since the COVID-19 pandemic with debt and caregiving responsibilities. This is referred to as the ‘motherhood penalty’.
To raise awareness of pay equity especially with low-income women of color, IDOL partnered with: Women Employed, Arise Chicago, Man-Tra-Con Corporation, Shriver Center on Poverty Law and the YWCA of the Quad Cities to launch a media and outreach campaign.
The campaign uses multi-faceted media and is made possible by a FARE (Fostering Access, Rights and Equity) grant from the Women’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor.
More information about the FARE grant can be found here.
