Presentation by Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW International Congress 2011 in Helsinki

1. Equal Pay Is the
Only Way
Learn How to Run Your
Own EDP Campaign
BPW International Congress
Helsinki, Finland - June 17-21, 2011
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 1

2. Learn to Run an Equal Pay Day
1. Basics
2. What we want to achieve
3. How to run an EPD
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 2

3. Basic Facts
• A wage gap exists at all levels, in all
countries
• Lower wage rates = lower lifetime
earnings
Male MPs from the
UK at Equal Pay
Day 2011
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 3

4. International Pay Gaps (2010)
Data published by the Parliament of Canada
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 4

5. Reasons for the Income Gap
• Gender stereotypes
• Gender roles
– Women working part-time
– Working in lower-paying trades
– Interrupting careers more often for care-giving in their
families
– Not negotiating salaries as much as men
– Fewer women work in executive positions than men
• The way boys and girls choose their careers
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 5

6. What Can We Do About Unequal Pay?
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 6

7. The Beginning of Equal Pay Day
• The first EPD was begun by
BPW/USA in 1996, followed by
Germany in 2008
• In 2009, BPW started the Equal Pay
Day Awareness Campaign at the
CSW 55 in New York
53rd Commission on the Status of
Women
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 7

8. EPD Awareness Campaign
• Works for the development of more EPDs worldwide
• Has established networking for worldwide activities
München, Germany
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 8

9. The Spread of EPD
Other BPW federations have since
established their own Equal Pay Days:
2009 Austria, France, The Netherlands, The UK, Australia,
Switzerland
2010 Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Finland,
Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Luxembourg
2011 Korea, European Union, Canada, Argentina, Greece
• Dr Bettina Schleicher
• BPW e.V., Past President 2004-2008, Chair, Equal Pay Day Taskforce
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 9

10. What We Want to Achieve
• A transparent salary system for companies
• Proportional amount of women on committees or in
executive positions
• Inform women so they can act with more confidence
• Improved conditions for working mothers
• Discrimination-free job evaluation
• More women in full-time jobs
EPD Berlin, 2010
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 10

11. Calculate an EPD
Multiply:
An EPD marks the end of the period of extra
days in the year that women must work in
order to achieve the same wages that men
earned the previous fiscal year
The number of additional days women must work to earn
men‘s wages—the last of these days after the end of the
financial year is the Equal Pay Day!
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 11

12. How to Organize an EPD in Your
Country?
1. Create an Awareness Campaign
Team of social-
democratic women in
Germany with
Hubertus Heil,
Secretary General of
the Social Democratic
Party
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 12

13. How to Organize an EPD in Your
Country?
1. Create an Awareness Campaign
There are different
ways to create a
campaign
Belgium
Australia
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 13

14. How to Organize an EPD in Your Country?
2. Create and publicize an event schedule
An Equal Pay Day breakfast in Long
Island, USA
Riding the red „London bus“
in Göttingen, Germany
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 14

15. How to Organize an EPD in Your Country?
3. Prepare promotional and informational
material
Information desks and activities in public areas
draw the attention of others to the issue
France in 2010
France in 2009
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce

16. How to Organize an EPD in Your Country?
4. Find allies and participants
• Businesses offer a discount equal to the gender pay gap
to women
In 2011, 46 Ikea stores
across Germany celebrated
„Kvinna Week“ and offered
23% discounts to women Women at an „Unhappy Hour“
on popular items
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 16

17. How to Organize an EPD in Your Country?
5. Draw the media‘s attention to the
cause
Hildesheim, Germany organized a bike race
through the number „23,“ for the wage gap
percentage
Korea launched EPD on May 21st
in Myung-dong, a famous area in
Seoul’s downtown
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 17

18. How to Organize an EPD in Your Country?
6. Make demands clear
• Workshops on how to
better negotiate pay
• Forums and debates on
the topic of equal pay
Poland held seminars for its
2011 EPD.
BPW Switzerland and a local
university held a seminar together.
(Lugano)
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 18

19. How to Organize an EPD in Your Country?
7. Celebrate Equal Pay Day
Red has become the color for the movement because
when it comes to salaries, women’s finances are „in the
red.“
Aachen, Germany Kiel, Germany
Glasgow, UK
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 19

20. How to Organize an EPD in Your Country?
7. Repeat Each Year to Reach Success
(ex. Germany)
• Participation has grown from 6,000 on the first EPD
in 2008 to 90,000 in 2011, and events from 60 to 360
• Reached political attention
Women involved in
the BPW with
members of the
Green Party and the
Christian Social
Union
Chairman of the Social Democratic Party
Frank-Walter Steinmeier und federal
Chairwoman for ARSP Elke Ferner in
2010
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 20

21. Thank You
Help us share the idea of
Equal Pay for Equal Work
Dr. Bettina Schleicher, BPW Germany e.V. Past President 2004 - 2008, Chair Equal Pay Day Taskforce 21