Equal Pay Day Ceremony Set For April 4

Equal Pay Day Ceremony Set For April 4

The public is invited to attend the Equal Pay Day proclamation ceremony hosted by the Kaua‘i Committee on the Status of Women (KCSW). The event will be held on Tuesday, April 4, 11:30 a.m., at the Lihu‘e Civic Center, Mo‘ikeha Courtyard.

During the ceremony, Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. will highlight the need to address the issue of equal pay for equal work, and encourage the elimination of the gender pay gap.

While the wage gap has improved since the 1960s, women still earn, on average, only 70 percent of what men earn. Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the current year a woman must work to earn as much as a man earned in the previous year, and is based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Women need the 30 percent pay loss particularly here on Kaua‘i, where the cost of food, housing, utilities, healthcare and transportation is among the highest in the nation,” said KCSW Chair Sharon Lasker. “The Committee believes that focusing attention on equal pay helps our entire community, as women manage not only their own finances, they also care for the health and success of the generations above and below them.”

The KCSW is part of the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, which strives to advance the status of women and girls by acting as a catalyst for positive change through advocacy, education, collaboration and program development.

The KCSW meets on the third Wednesday of the month. The next scheduled meeting is on April 19, 5 p.m., Lihu‘e Civic Center, Mo’ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/2B.
All KCSW meetings are open to the public.

If you need an ASL interpreter, materials in an alternate format, or other auxiliary aid support, please contact the Office of Boards and Commissions at 241-4920 or via email sent to mromo@kauai.gov at least three days prior to the event.