AAUW’s Cookies for Equal Pay Day

ESCANABA — Members of the Escanaba Area American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Delta County Business and Professional Women (BPW) have been baking feverishly for their “Cookies with a Bite Out” project. The bite out (something is missing) signifies the wage gap for women in America.

According to the 2006 Census Bureau, women on average earn 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. Michigan women earn only 66.7 percent of what men earn, and are tied with Alabama for having the 49th worst earnings ratio between men and women in the United States.

Equal Pay Day is April 22, 2008. This date signifies how long into the next year (almost four months) a woman must work to earn what a man with the same level of education made the previous year.

AAUW’s Pay Gap Research reports that men and women ages 45 and older are considerably more aware of this earnings gap than the younger adults and students. As a result, the Escanaba Area AAUW chose to focus its educational project on students. “Cookies with a Bite Out” and a Pay Equity fact sheet were distributed to 120 students at the March “Lunch with the Pastor,” hosted at Central United Methodist Church, across from Escanaba High School.

“Lunch with the Pastor” was so well received by interested students that the AAUW branch decided to further expand its educational outreach to students. On April 22, Equal Pay Day, Escanaba and Marquette AAUW branch members will be doing the “Cookies with a Bite Out” pay equity informational project on the campus of Northern Michigan University.

AAUW and BPW members have been baking over a thousand cookies with a missing bite (created with a special cookie cutter, of course), and bagging them with informational sheets. Similarly, Escanaba AAUW members will help Delta County BPW with its April 26 hot dog sale, during which women will purchase hot dogs for sixty-seven cents while men will pay $1. This event is being undertaken in conjunction with the BPW rummage sale, to be conducted at the Dream Day Event Center downtown Escanaba.

This effort is being made because equity remains an issue. For more information visit www.pay-equity.org or contact Jean Jokipii at 786-8684.

AAUW promotes equity for all women and girls, lifelong education, and positive societal change.

For membership information contact Kathy Bennett, V.P. Membership, at 786-3415.