Close to 60 workdays will have already passed by March 26, 2026. On Tuesday the Copper Country League of Women Voters marked Equal Pay Day.
During the day the local organization talked with Michigan Tech students about leveling the playing field between men and women in the workplace. League Co-President Faith Morrison says the day marks the number of additional days a woman may have to work to equal the salary earnings of her male counterparts.
“Women are overrepresented in the groups that earn the minimum wage. And so it’s an unintended follow-on effect of low minimum wage that makes the pay gap as bad as it is,” Morrison said. “The pay gap, the 30% pay gap that we’re seeing does include people from the entire spectrum of what they make. And because women are more often in those low paying jobs, it does make that number very big.”
Morrison noted that in higher-paying industries, the gap closes somewhat.
“If we could raise the minimum wage, it would be a huge step towards closing that pay gap,” Morrison said.
The Copper Country League of Women Voters has raised awareness for Equal Pay Day on Michigan Tech’s campus since 2016. Morrison says for the most part, many people believe the economic gap between men and women has closed. She adds it’s always surprising to people who stop to hear from the league how the equal pay gap divides workers into competing groups.
More information about Equal Pay Day is available online.
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