Equal Pay Act of 1963

• Author: Lawrence Peters,
• Pages: 255-256

Page 255

The Equal Pay Act of 1963, a federal U.S. law, was introduced and passed to ensure that women and men involved in the same job, with the same job description, got paid equally. The act was meant to address the wage gap between men and women. As the gap increased it became obvious that many women were excluded from certain jobs in order to maintain the status quo of men, and those women who did break into the business world were getting paid less than men doing the same job.

During World War II (1939–1945), many women answered the call of the U.S. government and went to work in droves to produce needed supplies for the war effort. Prior to World War II, many women were expected to stay home to tend to their households; after the war, however, women found that they enjoyed working outside their home, they needed the income, or they chose to work to supplement the family income for some of the extras that disposable income could provide. The U.S. Congress determined that different pay based on sex tended to cause many economic and social problems. Allowing wage differences based on sex kept the living standards low, prevented the workforce from reaching its full potential, and tended to cause labor disputes based on the inequity of pay. By requiring equal pay, families were able to buy more goods, thus boosting the economy.

During the 1970s two court cases further defined the Equal Pay Act of 1963. Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Company was heard by the Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, and Corning Glass Works v. Brennan was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Schultz v. Wheaton, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals determined that jobs do not need to be identical but rather "substantially equal" in order to be protected under the Equal Pay Act.

Furthermore, in 1974 the Supreme Court determined in Corning Glass Works v. Brennan that women could not be paid less simply because they would work at a lower pay rate than men. At the same time the Supreme Court confirmed the constitutionality of the Equal Pay Act.

Even with the Equal Pay Act and the subsequent rulings by the Supreme Court and other lower courts, equity has not been reached between men and women. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women earned approximately 77¢ for every $1.00 their male counterpart earned in 2004.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin speaks at a press...