The Fight behind Equal Pay

NORMAL – Illinois State University’s Bone Center hosted a panel covering the effects of equal pay on women.

The panel, “Equal Pay: Behind the Rally Cry”, covered a broad range of topics from tips on supporting women in the workplace to tips on negotiating salaries appropriately.

The panel was made up of Ann Perry a member the YWCA McLean County Board of Directors, Pamela Cooper of Illinois Career Center, Kyle Ciani, a member of the League of Women Voters of McLean County and Jenn Carrillo, a member of Bloomington City Council.

The discussion began regarding the generational differences between the panellists from their experiences negotiating salaries.

Carrillo spoke about the anger visible in our generation and the need to use it as fuel to create change. However, she emphasized the need to direct that anger towards the administrators within those companies.

“Ultimately there is a set of people that are a set of people making intentional choices to undermine our worth. I don’t think that acceptable and it’s our responsibility to organize around it,” Jenn Carrillo says.

The anger rooted in the statistics demonstrating the length of time left until equal pay is reached.

Finally, the conversation ended on creating a safe workplace for women of color to be able to discuss salaries and providing resources for audience members with remaining questions.