Spring Break
Cooking up attention toward unequal pay
Nellie D. Gordon
Issue date: 3/14/05 Section: News
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To prove her point, Gabovitz joined with the Women's Club at Northampton Community College in sponsoring a bake sale in which the goods were sold at a cost of 77 cents for women and $1 for men.
Women are paid 77 cents for every dollar men receive, according to information gathered from the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, she said.
Gabovitz handed out pamphlets and created a chart illustrating the difference in the pay scale according to profession.
For instance, Gabovitz noted that male editors and reporters earn a weekly salary of $813 while females earn $697. The difference of $116 per week is a wage gap of 85.7 percent, she said.
Gabovitz said that she came up with the idea of the bake sale as part of an advocacy project assigned by Dr. Susan Harlan, her instructor for the "Seminar" class that she is enrolled in at East Stroudsburg University.
Gabovitz said that she has an Associate's Degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and is working toward earning a bachelor's degree.
NCC and ESU have joined together in the establishment of this high degree program, she said.
Gabovitz said that she is also taking "Human Communications" at NCC. She said that she lives in the Lehigh Valley and being permitted to take classes at NCC's Bethlehem campus is convenient.
The Women's Club at NCC was very supportive in organizing and promoting the event, Gabovitz said. Members of the Women's Club also helped out at the table in between classes, she said.
Women responded positively to the bake sale and were encouraged to work for a change in gaining equality in pay, Gabovitz said. She said that most of the men paid their $1, averted their eyes from the chart and walked away quickly with their baked goods.
Many women gave $1 and told her to keep the change, Gavovitz said, but she gave it to them anyway. "This is the one time that we are coming out ahead."