Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz paid a visit to Penn Globe Gaslight Co., a woman-owned business in North Branford, to mark “Equal Pay Day,” the date said to mark how far into the calendar year female workers must toil to earn what men earned in the previous year.
“For far too long, women have been undervalued in the workplace for the work they provide compared to their male counterparts that do the same job — something that can be systemically ruinous, unfair and terrible for our workplace,” Lamont said.
“Connecticut has been a leading state in ensuring that our laws protect women, and that includes the right to equal pay for equal work,” he added. “Closing the gender wage gap is imperative to a stronger state with a stronger economy. I’m proud that our administration has made putting women into leadership positions a priority.”
Lament added, “Half of our state agencies are led by women, which is important not only for changing the culture of our workplace, but toward ensuring that state government reflects the people it represents.”
Equal Pay Day was originated by the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1996 as a public awareness event to highlight the discrepancy between men’s and women’s wages. In Connecticut, according to Lamont’s office, females on average earn 83 cents to every dollar paid to their male counterparts, a gap of about $11,000 annually. Black and Latina women earn just 63 cents and 54 cents per dollar, respectively, compared to their white male counterparts, Lamont’s office said.
“Closing the gender pay gap is about more than just lifting up women, it’s about lifting up all Connecticut families and growing our state’s economy,” Bysiewicz said. “Just last year, Connecticut took an important step toward closing the wage gap with the passage of a pay equity law. We want all women in our state to know that there are protections in place that prohibit employers from discriminating against them in the workplace.”
At the beginning of 2019, a new law — Public Act 18-8 — went into effect in Connecticut. The measure prohibits employers from asking prospective hires about their previous wages. Proponents argued that the new law would help to obviate patterns of wage discrimination impacting female workers from one position to the next.
