In order to earn what a man makes on average annually, a woman would have to work more than 100 extra days.
CAMDEN -- The numbers are staggering to Aubrey Andrews.
The captain of the Rutgers-Camden Women's Soccer team was shocked when she found out the World Cup-winning U.S. Women's Soccer team earned far less than their counterparts on the men's team, despite outperforming them and drawing in more advertising revenue -- arguments at the crux of a wage discrimination lawsuit recently filed by team members.
"That's ridiculous to me," said Andrews, who was joined by teammates, elected officials, university administrators and advocates at a press conference in Rutgers' campus center Tuesday afternoon.
The event was aimed at marking national Equal Pay Day -- the point in the year to which women have to work to earn the same amount their male counterparts made the prior year -- and calling for a renewal of the Paycheck Fairness Act.
The latter, a bill co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, is follow-up legislation to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 that will legally protect women who file wage-discrimination claims from retaliation in the workplace and create more wage transparency among private employers.
"You don't know what you don't know," said Norcross, stressing the need for women to know how much men with the same experience, performing the same jobs, are making compared to their own paychecks. Officials also highlighted well-documented figures that show women earn 79 cents for every dollar a man makes, figures that are significantly lower for women of color.
"It isn't just. It isn't fair. It does a discredit to our nation," said Camden County Freeholder Carmen Rodriguez at Tuesday's press conference. "You have our most talented individuals working double time without proper compensation ... Maybe not all things are fair in life, but this one can be."
Andrews underscored that optimism in her remarks, in which she said the wage disparity faced by the U.S. Women's Soccer team members is crucial to pay attention to since it reflects the larger problem at hand.
N.J. Rep. says it's time to fight for wage equity
The top five women's players make just 18 percent of the amount the top five players on the men's team does, said Andrews. The entire team shared a $2 million bonus for winning the women's World Cup, a figure dwarfed by the $9 million earned by the men's team in 2004 for winning just one game in the entire tournament.
"The gender wage gap is real; we see this in women's soccer but also in our everyday life in New Jersey," said Andrews, pointing to statistics that show women in New Jersey make $12,000 less a year than male counterparts, which adds up to them making $500,000 less over the course of their working years.
Andrews additionally urged Gov. Chris Christie to sign an equal pay bill recently approved by the state legislature.
"If our governor does not sign it, it's up to us to raise our voice and get the Assembly and Senate to override his veto and help close this gap," she said. "It's hard to argue with such staggering numbers."
Norcross said he's heard people try to dispute the statistics by stating the disparity is due to women leaving for having children, a criticism Norcross said is inaccurate as the studies containing the figures take contributing factors such as time off into account in their calculations.
"[The gender wage gap] is as real as you are standing here today," said Norcross.
He said after the press conference that he realizes his legislative efforts to close the pay gap on the national level have a slim chance of becoming a reality with the current Republican-led Congress.
Nevertheless, he said it's equally important to raise awareness about pay disparity not just on a political level, but among women in their everyday lives. Norcross contends real progress will happen when women wake up to their own wage gap -- and hold their employers accountable.
"Once [employers] find out there's a liability issue, you'll see things change rapidly," said Norcross.
Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.