In case you have not heard, April 8 is "Fair Pay Day."   President Clinton, the DNC, and their allies on the left are lamenting mythical wage discrimination against women in the workforce.  So, they are pushing a federal solution.

However, a new study by Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Christine Stolba entitled "Women's Figures" is much more positive in terms of pointing out women's career achievements.  They illustrate that women have achieved real equality in the business world.  Among their findings are:

• Women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men.
• Over 8.5 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. employ 23.8 million people and generate $3.1 trillion in revenue.
• Women-owned businesses are growing more rapidly than the overall economy.
• The SBA estimates that women will own 35% of small businesses by the turn of the millennium.
• A Korn/Ferry study notes that the number of corporate boards with women rose from 11% in 1973 to 53% in 1988 to 72% in 1998.
• On the differences in average pay between men and women, Professor June O'Neill notes, "When earnings comparisons are restricted to men and women more similar in their experience and life situations, the measured earnings differentials are typically quite small."
• As for the concentration of women in certain professions, Professor Elizabeth Fox-Genovese notes that "even highly successful women frequently want to spend much more time with their young children than the 60-hour weeks required by the corporate fast track will permit."

For more information about "Women's Figures," call Ivy McClure at 202-833-4553 at the Independent Women's Forum.