Whereas, Forty years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, women and people of color continue to suffer the consequences of inequitable pay differentials; and,

Whereas, According to statistics released in 2007 by the U.S. Census Bureau, year-round, full-time working women in 2006 earned only 77 percent of the earnings of year-round, full-time working men; and,

Whereas, According to a January 2002 report released by the General Accounting Office, women managers in 7 of 10 industries surveyed actually lost ground in closing the wage gap between 1995 and 2000; and,

Whereas, According to an analysis of data in over 300 classifications provided by the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics in 2001, women earn less in every occupational classification for which enough data is available, including occupations dominated by women; and,

Whereas, Higher education is not free from wage discrimination according to a U.S. Department of Education analysis, reporting that after controlling rank, age, credentials, field of study and other factors, full-time female faculty members earn nearly 9 percent less than their male counterparts; and,

Whereas, Over a working lifetime, this wage disparity costs the average American woman and her family $700,000 to $2 million in lost wages, impacting Social Security benefits and pensions; and,

Whereas, Equal pay for equal work policies can be implemented simply and without undue costs or hardship in both the public and private sectors; and,

Whereas, Equal pay for equal work strengthens the security of families today and eases future retirement costs while enhancing the American economy; and,

Whereas, Tuesday, April 22, 2008, symbolizes the time in the new year in which the wages paid to American women catch up to the wages paid to men from the previous year; and now therefore be it,

Resolved, That I, Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor of the State of Michigan, do hereby proclaim April 22, 2008, as Equal Pay Day in Michigan.