Rep. Hensley and Pay Equity

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the local Business and Professional Women’s forum on equal pay.

While I did know that a gap in pay still existed between men and women in the United States, I had no idea to how large of an extent. The latest figures show that for every dollar a man makes, a woman only makes around .78 cents. Sadly, in the state of Tennessee it is even lower. This clearly shows that while we have made progress on equal rights, we still have a ways to go.

This is an issue that needs to be at the forefront of our leaders’ minds not only on the national level in Washington D.C. but also the state and local level.

While I was proud to see my friends the Mayor of Lawrenceburg and the County Executive in attendance as well as the City of Lawrenceburg’s first female police chief, I was disappointed that I did not see Represntative Joey Hensley in attendance.

Rep. Hensley is in a position of leadership in which he could make a real positive difference on this issue, but rather it seems he is content with the ugly facts of pay inequity.

While I was disappointed not to see Rep. Hensley at yesterday’s forum, I must say that I was not surprised as a few years back he VOTED AGAINST a bill in the House whose goal was to stop discrimination in the workplace and ensure pay equity.

In the year 2009, for a woman to only make a little over 75% of what a man makes is unacceptable. To have leaders who openly oppose legislation that looks to ensure equality is even worse. We can do better.