Albany, NY – Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D,I,WF-Forestburgh) announced Assembly passage of a resolution declaring April 8, 2014 Equal Pay Day in New York State. This resolution recognizes the value of women’s skills and significant contributions to the workforce (K.1034).

“As a woman, a nurse, and the mother of two daughters, I know, first-hand, the tremendous contributions women make in the workforce,” said Assemblywoman Gunther. “Equal pay for equal work should not be a slogan; it should be a reality.”

National Equal Pay Day was established to highlight the gender wage gap as women are still paid less than men for comparable work. Celebrated on the second Tuesday in April to signify how far in the year that women have to work just to earn as much as their male counterparts earned the previous year, this day is a reminder that there is still work to be done for women to achieve full equality.

On average, in 2012, women earned only 77 percent of what men earned. The wage gap remains an even more significant hurdle for African American women, who earn 62 percent of their male counterparts, as well as Hispanic women, who earn only 54 percent of what their male colleagues make.