Equal Pay Act, Fifty Years On

Fifty years ago, President John F Kennedy signed landmark legislation to guarantee equal pay for women and men performing equal work for the same employer. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was the first in a series of major federal and state laws that had a profound effect on job opportunities and earnings for women over the next half century, and laid the foundation for the movement of women into the paid labor force at unprecedented levels. The term "pay gap" refers to the difference in earnings between male and female workers. While the pay gap has narrowed since the 1960s, female workers with a strong attachment to the labor force earn about 77 to 81 cents for every dollar earned by similar male workers. This book presents data trends in earnings for male and female workers and by discusses explanations that have been offered for the differences in earnings. It discusses the major laws directed at eliminating sex-based wage discrimination as well as relevant federal court cases.