Equal Pay Activities

AAUW of Knoxville, along with nearby AAUW branches and several other co-sponsoring women’s organizations, hosted one of four AAUW of Tennessee Forums on the topic of Pay Equity for Women. Details are provided at: https://knoxville-tn.aauw.net/calendar/announcements/

Forum Panel and Branch Presidents

Pictured: Front Row: Panelists Patricia Pierce, Christina Blanton, Dena Wise
Back Row: AAUW Presidents Ayne Cantrell, Peggy Emmett, Anne Loy, and Moderator Wanda Sobieski

In the past, the branch has co-sponsored along with the UT Department of Women’s Studies, an Equal Pay Day event on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Volunteers from the student body and from AAUW of Knoxville handed out mini PayDay candy bars with Equal packets stapled to them. In addition there were informational posters and fake $.78 “dollar bills” with the Equal Pay Day information printed on them. This day in April, is symbolic of the additional amount of time from January 1st of each year that it takes, on average, for a woman’s pay to reach the amount of a man’s for the previous year. Currently there is a Pay Gap of 79 cents in Tennessee. For women of color, the gap is much greater.

Statement from Anne Loy, Knoxville Branch President: I joined AAUW in 1986, after being in a teacher’s sorority, because of the variety of careers represented in the group, and because I knew that this group of women would be doing good things for the world. My main reason was social, but I came to realize that there were important goals for women to be worked toward. After a few years I took on a greater role in the organization and have enjoyed working together with others for the advancement of equity for women and girls.