BOISE, Idaho — The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963 and states that, "No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex..."
Idaho passed its own equal pay laws in 1969 that have never been updated or changed. According to attorney Jennifer Palmer, in 2022, " Idaho has one of the largest wage gaps among the states, with women earning only 75% of what men earn."
The Southwest Idaho Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) wants to change that. It held an event at the Idaho Capitol on Monday, prior to Women's Equal Pay Day 2024 called "She Works Hard for the Money." An event to highlight pay discrimination in the state and to call legislators to action.
"We are celebrating Idaho Women's Day and Equal pay day," President of Southwest Idaho NOW, Cindy Thorngren said. "Equal pay day is the day that women have to work into the next year to catch up with what men earn in the year before."
The event was also held on the same day that the Seal of Idaho, that was created by a woman, was adopted by the Idaho Legislature. The Boise Women's Chorus and Idaho State Representative Sonia Galaviz were also in attendance.
NOW is asking for three particular issues for the legislature to take up. Paid leave for family and medical issues, making sure people know pay ranges when they apply for a job and freedom to discuss pay in the workplace.
When asked why the pay laws haven't been changed in Idaho, Thorngren said that there is a tendency in the legislature for them to think everything is fine.
However, according to the organization, "in 2019, the average median income for men in Idaho was approximately $49,000; for women it was about $37,000, for a gap of roughly $12,000, according to the U.S. Census American Communities Survey. In 2021, women here earned about 75 cents for every dollar earned by men. The National Women's Law Center ranked Idaho 45th among states in 2021 for gender pay equity."
Additionally, NOW states that, "These figures are worse for women of color. Compared with white men who have similar educational attainments, Black and Latina women with a bachelor's degree have the largest gap at 65%, and Black women with advanced degrees earn 70% of what white men with advanced degrees earn."
Thorngren also said that there are not programs that specifically work for women to help bring them into different fields.
"They need to realize there are a lot of us out here to fight for this," she said. "We support women in Idaho."
Speaking directly to members of the Idaho Legislature she said, "the women in their family need support and need to know that they are going to be supported as women, as equal, and not as automatons, owned by other people. We are no longer in the 60's."
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