See the NY Moms’ Equal Pay Day Toolkit
Moms Equal Pay Day Submissions
This year, Mother’s Day arrives with grim news of threats to essential government programs that support women and families, including Medicaid, Head Start, and SNAP. Meanwhile, crises of inaccessible childcare, maternal mortality, and lack of paid leave, are only escalating for moms across the country. We need our elected leaders to stand up for mothers!
For Moms’ Equal Pay Day on May 6th, and Mother’s Day May 11th, PowHer® New York is calling on our state and local elected leaders to support New York moms while the federal government begins to gut essential services and safety nets for families.
This year, PowHer® New York is asking mothers across the state to join us by speaking out about the policies that matter most to them. We want to hear from you: What do mothers really want from our state and local elected leaders?
Help PowHer®NY deliver NY moms’ messages to our leaders by sending us a short quote or video talking about your policy priorities as a mother, or send this invitation to moms in your network. More instructions below.
On Moms’ Equal Pay Day, we highlight the continuing inequality that leads New York working moms to earn less than working dads– NY moms earn only 79 cents for every $1 working dads earn. With impending cuts to key government services for families, New York moms can’t afford to lose out on a single penny!
That’s why the PowHer®NY network of 100+ racial and gender justice organizations is working to advance policies that make child care affordable, help end wage discrimination, and expand paid leave. These are key priorities for combating the “motherhood penalty” that hurts moms’ earnings as a result of career disruptions due to unpaid child care duties and discrimination against working mothers.
As we approach Mothers’ Day, let’s help all mothers thrive by delivering equal pay! Please contact info@powherny.org with questions and suggestions.
Please share this invitation with moms in your network!
New York Moms – Call on our Leaders to Support Mothers!
Step 1: Decide what NY policies and programs are most important to you as a mother. You might want to reference PowHer®NY’s policy priorities for Moms’ Equal Pay Day below, or the Moms’ Equal Pay Day Toolkit.
Step 2: Record your thoughts as a quote or video statement. Don’t forget to introduce yourself, mention Mothers’ Day or Moms’ Equal Pay Day, call on NY elected leaders to advance your priorities, and include your personal experience as a mother! See more instructions here https://bit.ly/NYMOMS
Step 3: Submit your quote or video to PowHer®NY on this form. https://bit.ly/NYMOMS
Step 4: Join PowHer®NY in sharing your statement on May 6th for Moms Equal Pay Day!
See PowHer New York’s “X”, Facebook and Instagram, and Bluesky, and use #EqualPayNY #MomsEqualPayDay
Step 5: Spread the word to other mothers in your community!
2025 POWHER®NY EQUAL PAY DAY MESSAGING
How can our state & local leaders support mothers, families, and all workers as we face federal attacks on worker protections?
- Invest in Universal Child Care and the Care Workforce so mothers do not have to leave the workforce to get quality care for their family.
- Expand Salary Transparency Laws to End Wage Discrimination with NYC Int 808-A and NYS A5906/S5990 so working mothers and all women can negotiate for fair compensation.
- Make NY a leader in Pay Transparency with Pay Data Reporting Laws NYC Int 982 and 984, which will require large employers to report their pay gaps.
- Expand Paid Leave for NYS workers by updating Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) – Pass A84 for job-protected paid leave for workers with complicated pregnancies & workers recovering from childbirth or pregnancy loss.
SAMPLE QUOTES or VIDEO SCRIPTS
“As a new mother in New York, it’s important to me that our state leaders invest in quality, universal child care so I can choose to return to my career knowing my child is in good hands. This Moms’ Equal Pay Day, I’m calling on my representatives in the NYS Senate and Assembly to make sure every mom has access to child care, so we can close the unfair wage gap for mothers!”
“My name is [first name] and I am a mother living in [city/borough/etc]. No mother should be penalized for choosing to have children – we must end the “motherhood penalty” that causes working mothers to earn only 79 cents for every dollar a working father earns.”
MOMS’ EQUAL PAY DAY STATISTICS
| New York Full-time workers | New York Full time + Part Time workers | National Full-time workers | |
| Mothers Overall | 79¢ | 65¢ | 83¢ |
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| Asian Mothers | 77¢ | 55¢ | 1.00 |
| White Mothers | 79¢ | 64¢ | 75¢ |
| Black Mothers | 57¢ | 48¢ | 56¢ |
| Latina Mothers | 51¢ | 38¢ | 51¢ |
| Native Mothers | 47¢ | 32¢ | 50¢ |
National wage gap calculated by NWLC based on the U.S. Census Bureau 2023 American Community Survey using IPUMS. State wage gaps calculated based on U.S. Census Bureau 2018-2022 American Community Survey using IPUMS. Mothers and fathers have at least one related child under 18 at home.