Beyond Lilly Ledbetter

Over at Campus Progress, I have a piece that tries to respond to all the justifications for pay disparity, and why the Lilly Ledbetter Act just isn't enough:

Today is Fair Pay Day. Again. It’s yet another reminder that women make, on average, about three-quarters of what men make. For women of color, that gap gets even bigger. The American Association of University Women created an interactive map where you can see exactly how bad the pay gap is in your state. The reality is that the gender pay gap has barely budged in the decades the AAUW has began studying this problem.

Every time we open up the debate about equal pay, the response is that this issue is complicated. Pundits put forth reasons explaining away why women make less than men. They scratch their heads and think about all of the reasons women are paid less. In the end, they help justify the pay gap rather than finding solutions.

Go ahead and read the whole thing here.