Spring Break
Chicago attorney serves as keynote speaker at Women's Resource Expo
Yong's speech addresses issue of unequal pay for women
Kate Stickelmaier
Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: News
Friday evening's Women's Resource Expo featured Chicago Attorney Barbara Yong's speech on the topic of pay equity as part of her involvement with the American Association of University Women's (AAUW) research.
The event, which was co-sponsored by the University Club at ISU, took place in the faculty staff commons of the Bone Student Center and presented a wide variety of exhibitors.
Those in attendance included representatives from such health oriented organizations as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the YWCA Stepping Stones Program of McLean county and the Women's Center at BroMenn Medical Center.
"The myth is that it is only a woman's disease, but it truly starts with our children," Helen Wright, program manager of the Women's Center at BroMenn, said when referring to the information her exhibitor booth provided regarding osteoporosis. Local businesses including Calahan Solutions, Bard Optical and Collaborative Solutions Institute were on hand to help answer questions about running a small business.
"The AAUW is working for the advancement of equality for women and girls through research," Carol Reitan, co-founder of CSI and former mayor of the town of Normal, said during Yong's introduction.
According to Yong, the pay gap is still a relevant issue even in today's modern society as women still earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.
"African-American women earn 73 percent less than men," Yong said. "Latino-American women earn 42 percent less than men."
Double standards also continue to plague women in certain fields of employment.
"Women who have children earn less than women who don't in the same field," Yong said. "But men who have children make more than men who don't."
According to Yong, women are still experiencing discrimination in the workplace more than 40 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 due to the fact that such discrimination can be difficult to prove.
"Women are sometimes paid less than men in field of education because they aren't always hired as coaches," Yong said. "There are other ways to be discriminated and when you apply for a job you might be steered towards a lower-paying job like a receptionist."
Yong emphasizes the importance of negotiating your salary as a woman in order to avoid cheating yourself out of making more money.
"When you go into an interview, every interview situation is a chance to negotiate," Yong said. "You're short selling yourself if you don't ask."
Yong attributes this lack of knowledge to the fact that women aren't always aware that salary increases are discussable issues.
"You need to talk about it with your family, with your friends, with your coworkers and with young women who are entering the workforce and may not have experienced discrimination yet," Yong said.
"I think we can make a difference and this generation is the one to do it. Forty-four years is too long to continue discrimination."
Yong encourages women to examine their own employment situation in order to affect such change in the near future.
The event, which was co-sponsored by the University Club at ISU, took place in the faculty staff commons of the Bone Student Center and presented a wide variety of exhibitors.
Those in attendance included representatives from such health oriented organizations as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the YWCA Stepping Stones Program of McLean county and the Women's Center at BroMenn Medical Center.
"The myth is that it is only a woman's disease, but it truly starts with our children," Helen Wright, program manager of the Women's Center at BroMenn, said when referring to the information her exhibitor booth provided regarding osteoporosis. Local businesses including Calahan Solutions, Bard Optical and Collaborative Solutions Institute were on hand to help answer questions about running a small business.
"The AAUW is working for the advancement of equality for women and girls through research," Carol Reitan, co-founder of CSI and former mayor of the town of Normal, said during Yong's introduction.
According to Yong, the pay gap is still a relevant issue even in today's modern society as women still earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.
"African-American women earn 73 percent less than men," Yong said. "Latino-American women earn 42 percent less than men."
Double standards also continue to plague women in certain fields of employment.
"Women who have children earn less than women who don't in the same field," Yong said. "But men who have children make more than men who don't."
According to Yong, women are still experiencing discrimination in the workplace more than 40 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 due to the fact that such discrimination can be difficult to prove.
"Women are sometimes paid less than men in field of education because they aren't always hired as coaches," Yong said. "There are other ways to be discriminated and when you apply for a job you might be steered towards a lower-paying job like a receptionist."
Yong emphasizes the importance of negotiating your salary as a woman in order to avoid cheating yourself out of making more money.
"When you go into an interview, every interview situation is a chance to negotiate," Yong said. "You're short selling yourself if you don't ask."
Yong attributes this lack of knowledge to the fact that women aren't always aware that salary increases are discussable issues.
"You need to talk about it with your family, with your friends, with your coworkers and with young women who are entering the workforce and may not have experienced discrimination yet," Yong said.
"I think we can make a difference and this generation is the one to do it. Forty-four years is too long to continue discrimination."
Yong encourages women to examine their own employment situation in order to affect such change in the near future.
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