President Obama just announced a huge new crackdown on employers that pay men more than women. Once enacted, all companies with more than 100 employees will have to report pay data by gender, race, and ethnicity. This is a MAJOR step that will expose discrimination that's currently hard to prove--and pave the way for pay equity.

But the President can't close the whole wage gap by himself, and this Congress isn't about to solve the problem. Thankfully, the states are stepping in. Just last week, legislators in nearly half of the states announced they'd be introducing equal pay legislation into their statehouses. Those states include: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. But there's no reason the other states can't follow suit. 

If we all pile on and remind our elected officials that we need equal pay now, it can help trigger a domino effect of equal pay across the states. Will you sign the petition to your state legislators?

(Image used under Creative Commons License from #WOCinTech)