Pay Equity Quiz

1. In 1963, when the Equal Pay Act was passed, women made ___¢ on the dollar compared to men.
a. 59¢ b. 63¢ c. 74¢ d. 81¢

2. Today that figure is ___¢ on the dollar compared to men.
a. 85¢ b. 91¢ c. 72¢ d. 77¢

3. Black women earn ___¢ on the dollar compared to white men.
a. 65¢ b. 72¢ c. 85¢ d. 87¢

4. Hispanic women earn ___¢ on the dollar compared to white men.
a. 59¢ b. 52¢ c. 72¢ d. 82¢

5. Over a lifetime, how much less will women earn than men?
a. $550,000 b. $700,000 c. $1,200,000 d. $2,000,000

6. Under the Equal Pay Act, employers cannot pay women and minorities less than white men with the same qualifications for doing the same job.True False

7. Under the Equal Pay Act, plaintiffs are entitled to compensatory and punitive damages if their employer has violated the law.
True False

8. Women make up __% of the American labor force today.
a. 38% b. 42% c. 44.5% d. 46%

ANSWERS:
1.a
2.d
3.b
4.a

5.b, c, and d are all correct, for women with high school, college, and professional postgraduate degrees respectively, according to Evelyn Murphy, economist and founder and president of The WAGE Project.

6. False. The Equal Pay Act mandates that employers cannot pay workers less based on sex. It does not address racial discrimination. Race discrimination cases have been brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which has a much tougher burden of proof.

7. False. Under the Equal Pay Act, awards are limited to two years prior to filing the complaint in court or three years if there is a finding that the act of the employer was willful. A plaintiff may also be awarded liquidated damages, which can double her back pay award, but she still may not recover all of the money she's lost over the entire period of years she's been underpaid.

8. d

Developed by the National Committee on Pay Equity.
Note: Wage gap statistics provided in questions 1-4 are derived from the median annual earnings information for year-round, full-time workers as published by the Census Bureau for the year 2005 (the latest year for which Census wage data is available).