Immediate Release
April 9, 2018

Equal Pay Day: Time to Celebrate Opportunity American Economy Affords Women and Men

Washington, DC – Carrie Lukas, President of Independent Women’s Forum, released the following statement for Equal Pay Day, taking place on April 10:

“Today–like every other day of the year–American women are working hard to support their families and communities and pursue their own vision of happiness.  In the process, they make America a stronger and better country.  That deserves celebration.”

“Americans often make different choices about what kind of work to pursue.  For instance, when considering job opportunities, maximizing pay isn't always a first priority.  Often women seek job options that have more flexible hours, so they can be there to welcome their kids off the bus.  Many women look for jobs that they find personally rewarding, even if that means accepting lower pay.” 

“There is nothing wrong with men and women having different priorities.  Taken together, the choices that millions of individual men and women make about what kind of work opportunities to pursue mean that, on average, women earn less take home pay than men do.  That's what you see boiled down into the infamous wage gap statistic.” 

“Some with a political agenda try to convince people–particularly women–that this statistic is evidence that America is fundamentally sexist and short-changing women.  That's wrong.  It's simply not true to suggest that these statistics are a proxy for gender discrimination.  Moreover, it's unhelpful to American women to encourage them to think that they are inevitably going to be wronged, rather than encouraging them to be aware of how the choices they make about what fields to enter, specialties to pursue, and time they dedicate to their professions will impact their earnings potential.” 

“It's time to put behind this misleading false holiday, recognize that every day is equal pay day, and celebrate all the opportunity that the American economy affords women and men.”

Independent Women's Forum just released a takeaways document explaining the real drivers behind the pay gap. 

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