AAUW book sale aims to diminish wage gap
Over the weekend, the American Association of University Women in Pocatello held its annual A.A.U.W book sale to raise money for its Start Smart workshops, teaching women throughout the community how to negotiate their salaries in an attempt to eliminate the wage gap.
The A.A.U.W STEM chair and Idaho State University math professor Cathy Kriloff said women across the country are still earning 78-cents for every dollar a man earns, even with equivalent degrees.
“Although we have come a long way, there is still a long way to go,” Kriloff said. “Our used books sale has traditionally gone toward scholarships for female students at ISU.”
For the past three years, many of the proceeds from this book sale have gone toward hosting these workshops that are open to members throughout the community, not just those attending ISU.
She said by the end of a woman’s career span, she will have earned an average of one million dollars less than a man by the time you also compound the percentage increases as well.
But, this organization isn’t just about closing the wage gap.
“It’s also about increasing opportunities, improving education and representation of women in STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which are fields underrepresented by women,” Kriloff added.
She said if the group raises enough money in time, one workshop will be held in the fall and another will be held in the spring, which, she said will be advertised once they can figure out a date to hold them.
