“Equal Pay” Law Applies To Only Two Women In Norwood Public Schools-This Day in Norwood History-June 8, 1947

School Committee Decision Means But $400 This Year

Only two women in the Norwood school system are entitled to salary equalization under the requirements of the so-called “equal pay” law it was determined by the Norwood School Committee Wednesday night.

The Committee adjourned its’ meeting at 1 a.m following a strenuous session grappling with the problem involved in the application of the requirements of the equal pay law. They employed as a principle of procedure a method wherein all women teachers in the Norwood School system arc doing what might be considered to be the same type of work as men teachers.

The law requires that men and women teachers doing the same type of work in the same grades and with the same preparation and training shall be payed at the same rate. The manner in which the problem was worked out in detail is as follows:

The men were listed separately and women teachers who might be considered to be doing similar work were also listed for comparison and judgment according to the specific requirements of the law As a result of the School Committee’s deliberation, it was determined that there were but two women in the Norwood School system who are entitled because of the requirement of the law, to salary equalization.

The net result of committee action is that it will mean an additional expenditure of $400 for this fiscal year. The pay increases thus brought about go into effect as of June 1, 1947 and will be for each of the two teachers at the rate of $400 annually.

The problem of administering the “equal pay” law has plagued the School Committee since the measure was adopted by the voters of the town at the polls last January. The board has met repeatedly to discuss the problem and numerous outside consultations with authorities have been held in an effort to work out a solution. Last night’s action would appear to complete the committee’s difficult task of applying a law which, since It was written into the statutes, has been considered loosely worded and extremely difficult to interpret.

(All articles were originally published in the Norwood Messenger unless otherwise noted)