Nonetheless, today is an occasion set aside each April to highlight the progress in women’s and minorities' attainment of equitable pay in the work force.

If you are a woman of color, and your pay stub is within arm’s reach of you right now, grab it and continue reading:

The amount women make for every dollar earned by a man.

The amount African American women make for every dollar paid to a white man.

The amount Hispanic women make for every dollar paid to a white man.

The percent of minority women with an income considered to be “upper-middle-class and above,” defined as an income of $58,000 or more, “while 40 percent of minority men, 46 percent of white women, and 60 percent of white men have achieved this level of family income.” (Source: NWLC)

Source: National Women’s Law Center (PDF)

[ALSO READ: "Are Politicians Defending Minority Stay-At-Home Moms?"]

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union is expected to brief the public on pay equity issues on Capitol Hill. Deborah Vagins, senior legislative counsel in the ACLU’s Washington branch, says the issue is no longer just about equal pay, but also the ability of all workers to gauge equity without fear of retaliation.

“If women don't know that they are being underpaid, they can't do anything about it,” Vagins told Loop 21, in an interview on Monday.

Vagins, along with several groups within the Fair Pay Coalition, is asking President Barack Obama to sign an “executive order that would protect people who work for federal contractors against retaliation for disclosing or asking about their wages.”

The groups within the coalition aren't relying on the current cast of Congressional lawmakers to make the needed amendments to the Equal Pay Act, Vagins added.

Even though a similar measure enjoyed bipartisan support in 2009, the “Paycheck Fairness Act” did not get the 60 Senate votes required to advance the bill for a floor vote.

For more information on the executive order sought by the Fair Pay Coalition (PDF), click here. To get a primer on the Equal Pay Act of 1963, click here.

If you find yourself in Washington, D.C., without something productive to do at 3:30 p.m. ET, attend the coalition’s briefing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in Room G-50.

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