COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

PROCLAMATION
EQUAL PAY DAY
April 10, 2018

WHEREAS, the Equal Pay Act was passed over 50 years ago, but women, especially
minority women, continue to suffer the consequences of unequal pay; and

WHEREAS, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statics, women who were
full-time wage and salary workers in 2016 had median usual weekly earnings that were 82
percent of what men earned; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania women who are employed full-time lose a combined total of
nearly $34 billion each year; and

WHEREAS, women remain an important factor in the nation’s labor force, driving
decades of economic growth, and must be provided with equal economic opportunity; and

WHEREAS, fairness, inclusion, and trust are necessary for a healthy society and a
healthy commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, a lifetime of lower pay means women have less income to save for
retirement and less income counted in a Social Security or pension benefit formula; and

WHEREAS, fair pay equity policies can be implemented simply and without undue
costs or hardship in both public and private sectors; and

WHEREAS, fair pay strengthens the security of families today and eases future
retirement costs while enhancing the American economy.

THEREFORE, I, Tom Wolf, Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, do

hereby proclaim April 10, 2018, as EQUAL PAY DAY. I encourage all residents to recognize
the value and importance of pay equity and the important role it plays in our communities.

GIVEN under my hand and the Seal of the

Governor, at the City of Harrisburg, this ninth day
of April two thousand eighteen, the year of the
commonwealth the two hundred forty-second.

TOM WOLF
Governor