LGBTQIA+ Equal Pay Awareness Day will be held on June 17 this year.
Together, we strive for a future where our contributions, regardless of gender identity, sex characteristics, or sexual orientation, are valued equally.
Our fight for equal pay takes an intersectional approach, acknowledging that economic insecurity is magnified for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, LGBTQIA+ people of color, LGBTQIA+ women, immigrants, and other marginalized identities. Together, we champion inclusive solutions that uplift all voices within our diverse community.
In another year marred by hundreds of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills and ongoing attacks targeting our communities from the federal government, we stand firm, raising our voices to address wage inequality and all its contributors.
Our shared hashtags for the day will be #PrideInYourPay and #LGBTQIAequalpay, and our shared calls to action will be to demand the EEOC protect all workers, protect EEO-1 demographic data collection and urge Congress to pass the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), is required to protect the rights of all workers to be free from harassment and discrimination. However, under the current Chair, the Commission has engaged in unprecedented actions undermining the enforcement of existing protections, especially for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Aligning the Agency with a discriminatory Presidential Executive Order, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas has illegally refused to enforce employment protections for transgender and nonbinary workers, rolled back technical assistance related to discrimination and harassment against LGBTQ+ individuals, and rescinded comprehensive 2024 guidance on workplace harassment that specifically outlined protections for workers based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Agency has now moved to halt 60 year old EEO-1 demographic data collection which is critical for the Commission’s enforcement of anti-discrimination law and employers’ compliance with the law.
Given the importance of the EEOC to the lives and livelihoods of millions of workers, we are demanding the Commission fulfill its mandate to enforce the law on behalf of all workers—not dictated by a political agenda, and that it continue longstanding workforce demographic data collection. In light of these rollbacks by the EEOC, we are also urging Congress to pass the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act, which would strengthen federal anti-discrimination and harassment protections for all workers and make clear that discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity is unlawful.
Thank you for joining us on LGBTQIA+ Equal Pay Awareness Day.
Equal Pay Today I Equal Rights Advocates I Human Rights Campaign Foundation I The TransLatin@ Coalition I National Partnership for Women & Families I American Association of University Women | Center for American Progress
