Experts to Discuss Wage Gap Issues in Cheyenne

EEOC and Wyoming Department of Workforce Services-Labor Standards Host Fair Pay Day Event

CHEYENNE, Wyo.-- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Denver Office and the Wyoming State Department of Workforce Services-Labor Standards will host a free training event on the Equal Pay Act on Thursday, May 12, 2011 at the Holiday Inn-Cheyenne, 204 West Fox Farm Road. The training will run from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

Nancy Sienko, director of the EEOC's Denver Field Office, and Stephanie Struble, senior trial attorney of the EEOC's Denver Field Office, will provide training on the Equal Pay Act. Cherie Doak, director of the Wyoming State Department of Workforce Services-Labor Standards, will present information about employment laws in Wyoming.

Included in the training will be information regarding wage discrimination which is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Fifty years after passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the wage gap between men and women still persists. Women are paid an average of only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. The gap is even greater for women of color and women with disabilities.

The wage gap has a cumulative effect on working women and their families. Because raises, bonuses, and contributions to retirement funds are usually calculated as a percentage of salary, the impact of wage discrimination grows over the course of a lifetime.

According to the American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau data, the state of Wyoming is ranked 51st in the nation for median earnings for male and female full-time year-round workers, ages 16 and older at all education levels. In this category, the average male earns an annual salary of $48,555, whereas the average female earns $31,204.

The news for Wyoming improves when looking at the median earnings and earning ratio between male and female full-time, year-round college-educated workers age 25 and older. I n this category, Wyoming is No. 1 in the nation where the average male earns an annual salary of $54,000, whereas the average female earns $48,000 annually.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against employment discrimination. Further information is available at www.eeoc.gov.

The EEOC's Denver Field Office has jurisdiction for Colorado and Wyoming. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.