Equal Pay Legislation

President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law on June 10, 1963, making it illegal for employers to pay men and women different wages for equal work.1 The act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and applied to employers engaged in interstate commerce.

The campaign for equal pay legislation had roots in World War II, when six million women entered the industrial workforce to replace men who had gone overseas. After the war, many were pushed out of their positions, and those who remained were typically paid less than male colleagues for the same tasks.2

Congress considered and rejected equal pay bills repeatedly throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Opponents argued that women's work was inherently different and that market forces, not legislation, should determine wages. The 1963 act passed with bipartisan support, though its original language requiring "equal pay for comparable work" was narrowed to "equal pay for equal work," a distinction that limited the law's reach.3

Britain passed its own Equal Pay Act in 1970, six years after the Ford sewing machinists' strike at Dagenham, where 187 women walked off the job to protest being classified as unskilled workers. Their action led directly to the legislation.4

Iceland became the first country in the world to require employers to prove they pay men and women equally, with legislation taking effect in 2018. As of 2023, the global gender pay gap stood at approximately sixteen percent according to the International Labour Organization.5