Join us for IWPR’s 2026 Power+ Summit, The Power Grid: Driving Gender Equity Forward, taking place September 28–29 in Detroit, MI.
Together, we will spark bold ideas, share breakthroughs, and shape the future of gender equity.
By Bryce Covert
Equal Pay Day is meant to highlight the fact that women still make less than men in nearly every job, every industry and at every level of educational attainment. Yet, as we mark this symbolic day year after year, the gender wage gap hasn’t budged much over the last two decades. And although pay discrimination is technically illegal, the tools we give women to fight the gap ― like the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which mandated equal pay for equal work, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which extended the time period women have to file complaints ― are pretty weak.