More than 100 people filled Nectar Lounge in Fremont on Friday to kick off Activate 3.8, a statewide campaign to address the gender pay gap.
People ate egg sandwiches from the Sunny Up food truck outside and wore black-and-pink T-shirts that read "Half the state," referring to the 3.8 million women who make up half of Washington's population. The sandwiches had names such as "Mia Ham," "Nina Smoked Salmone" and the "Ruth Tater Ginsburg.
The campaign is a project of the Washington State Women's Commission, a cabinet-level state agency signed into existence by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2018. According to a report from the National Partnership for Women and Families, women's median earnings in Washington were $18,400 less than men's in 2022. It was the second-widest gender pay gap in the country, topped only by Utah's at $20,649.
The campaign is bringing together a variety of labor and educational organizations, such as Girl Scouts of Western Washington and the Washington State Labor Council.
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"We will identify partners who are committed to doing this work," said April Sims, president of the Washington State Labor Council. "Through those commitments to doing this work, we can identify some real policy recommendations and pass policy at the legislative level."
Activate 3.8 is still forming its more granular, concrete goals. Starting this month and extending into next year, the campaign is going on a 10-city tour around Washington to raise awareness for the campaign.
Among Activate 3.8's stated goals are exposing young women in school to high-paying careers like tech and aerospace, connecting women with existing resources, improving workplace conditions for women and increasing female representation in leadership. The tour's first stop will be Gonzaga University.
As for why Washington lags behind other states, Activate 3.8 points to expensive child care, direct pay discrimination and the fact that women are overrepresented in low-paid work. Inslee, who spoke at the event, said education opportunities early on are crucial to fixing the pay gap.
"We have the best financial aid package in the United States to make sure all people, including women, can get into these careers," Inslee told reporters outside the event. "We also want to give them as many apprenticeships and vocational opportunities early in life so they can see themselves in these jobs."
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