HomeMy WebLinkAbout21- Equal Pay Day Proclamation
Proclamation Recognizing Equal Pay Day
WHEREAS, March 24, 2021 is recognized as “Equal Pay Day,” which is the date that women
will have to work to this year, AND all of 2020 in order to achieve the same earnings that men
achieved in all of 2020; and
WHEREAS, in the United States, on average, women earn 82 cents to the man’s dollar,
Hispanic and Latina women earn 55 cents, American Indian or Alaska Native women earn 60
cents, Black or African American women earn 63 cents, Asian American and Pacific Islander
women earn 85 cents; and
WHEREAS, in Montana women earn 73.2 cents to the man’s dollar, and comparing state by
state, Montana ranks 39th in the United States on the pay equity scale; and
WHEREAS, the wage gap exists in nearly every occupation, in all industries, in every state,
across all countries, at all education levels, and in the private, government, and nonprofit
sectors; and
WHEREAS, the gender wage gap results in women and their families having less access to
financial resources and has unfounded, subtle, and unexplained causes that need to be
identified and eliminated; and
WHEREAS, on June 8, 2015 the Bozeman City Commission unanimously passed Resolution
4601 supporting equal pay for equal work; and
WHEREAS, each year since 2015 the City has taken steps to collect data and identify tools that
will assist in the diversification of city positions, encourage the use of innovative and
improved human resources tools, and sought to be an active example in the efforts to close the
gender wage gap; and
WHEREAS, in the Equal Pay for Equal Work Resolution 4601 the City of Bozeman committed
to commemorate Equal Pay Day each year and to encourage its citizens to recognize the full
value of women’s skills and contributions to the labor force, and to take further action as
citizens and businesses to help close the gender wage gap; and
WHEREAS, Bozeman, Montana, as a Welcoming City, recognizes that when there are fair and
equitable outcomes for all women and girls, our community prospers and therefore can
become a city free of gender and other discrimination; and
WHEREAS, issues of gender equity, inclusion and safety are community-wide problems that
require community-wide analysis and action, the City of Bozeman - in collaboration with other
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organizations and businesses - can provide leadership and model what is possible for other
sectors of our community.
Now, therefore, I, Cynthia L. Andrus, the Mayor of Bozeman, do hereby proclaim that the City
of Bozeman Montana observed and recognized March 24, 2021 as Equal Pay Day, a day whose
meaning and purpose needs to become unnecessary by achieving equal pay for equal work by
reaching a day when men and women earn the same wage for the same work after the same
time duration of work; and
I further Proclaim, that the City Commission encourages citizens and businesses to have
conversations about gender parity, to explore ways in which we can address and work toward
fair pay for all in our community; and
I further Proclaim that the City of Bozeman encourages local businesses to pursue their own
hiring, promotional, and pay policies that reflect equal opportunity and gender wage equity;
and
I further Proclaim that the City of Bozeman will continue to take a leadership role in the
community to encourage its citizens to recognize the full value of women’s skills and
contributions to the labor force, and to take further action as citizens and businesses to help
close the gender wage gap.
Signed this 6th day of April, 2021
_______________________
Cynthia L. Andrus
Mayor of Bozeman
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