McLean County Equal Pay Coalition rallies on Equal Pay Day

Posted on April 12, 2016

Diane Zosky said current trends show women will not achieve equal pay with men for another 42 years. (Adam Studzinski/WJBC)

By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – The McLean County Equal Pay Coalition held a rally at the McLean County YWCA Tuesday afternoon to continue the push for equal pay for women.

The rally coincided with Equal Pay Day. Director of the School of Social Work at Illinois State University Diane Zosky said women make 79 cents on the dollar compared to men. She added at this pace women will not reach equal pay with men until 2058.

“When you think about this, the impact of this, that hurts all of us,” said Zosky. “This is not just a women’s fight. This is a man’s fight. This is a families’ fight. This is a people fight.”

Zosky said part of the problem could be the general secrecy around people’s salaries.

“Because of that veil of invisibility and silence and secrecy, we don’t know often that we’re being discriminated against,” she said.

Mayors from Bloomington and Normal joined the rally by reading a proclamation making Tuesday Equal Pay Day in Bloomington-Normal.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…