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Erie County Exective Mark Poloncarz talks fair pay on National Equal Pay Day

Posted at 2:22 PM, Apr 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-04 14:22:11-04

National Equal Pay Day is bringing a revived push for pay equity in Western New York.  Today Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Executive Director of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women (ECCSW), Karen King tackled the issue of income inequality between genders.

The date of National Equal Pay Day symbolizes how many days into 2017 women must work to earn what men earned in 2016. In 2016, the median annual earnings for women in Erie County working full-time were $40,610 versus $50,966 for men doing the same work.

The ECCSW is hosting a pay equity panel discussion at the Buffalo History Museum today at 4:00 p.m. The panel is entitled “Narrowing the Gender Wage Gap: Current Legislative Strategies,” and will feature a number of experts on the topic including local attorneys, educators, and community leaders.

“We must speak out and act against all forms of discrimination, including wage discrimination between genders. It is unconscionable that some employees in 2017 still feel that it is OK to pay their female employees less than males for the same work,” said Poloncarz.