Women’s Equal Pay in Chicago

Chicago, being the large prominent city that it is, is the home of some globally recognized campaigns that are very applicable to the city’s population. One particular social issue that plagues Chicago is discrimination, particularly in the form of  women’s wages. According to this Chicago tribune article, women in the United States currently only make $0.79 to every $1 a man makes. Unlike other types of discrimination that play into a person’s race, this discrimination is far more applicable because the afflicted group of people is half of the human race. Women and men alike in the city of Chicago have been fighting for some time to promote change in this field of life.

The Chicago Foundation for Women is one of the most recognized groups that is currently promoting the equality of women, and have made significant progress in raising awareness about the matter publicly. This group has produced many statistics involving women in the workforce, and organizes events yearly to pursue change. In this article written about the group’s pursuit of equality, the point is made that closing the wage gap would cut the poverty rate in half for working women and their families. Also declared that women being paid equally would add almost half a trillion dollars to the national economy. The wage gap is not the only goal, as this organization also pushes for better paternity leaves and other basic rights in the work space that women deserve.

Local governments have not done much in regards to closing this gap in Chicago, but national attention has been drawn to this cause by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Women Employed, another pro-women group is hosting an equal pay rally on April 12th to promote this issue further.

Sources:

-http://www.cfw.org/

-http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20151021/OPINION/151029959/heres-how-to-bridge-the-pay-gap-for-women-in-chicago

-http://womenemployed.org/stand-equal-pay