Donna Walsh works to end pay disparities and encourages women to run for office

Donna Walsh first joined the fight for pay equity when she became an active member of Business and Professional Women in 1982. She was elected to the state Senate in 1996, serving as the deputy majority leader until 2002. In her six years there, she introduced pay equity awareness legislation every year and was a co-sponsor of the first bill calling for Rhode Island to eliminate sex based wage discrimination. Walsh mobilized support from other legislators, women's organizations, and the public in order to close the gap that unfairly affects women's jobs.

Although Rhode Island wasn’t, and still isn't ready to join the few progressive states and cities addressing this issue, Walsh has remained firmly committed to the goal of eliminating systematic pay discrimination.

“We can gain faith knowing that pay equity is a growing national movement. States all over the country are introducing legislation to address the issue. But these few actions just do not result in enough change. At the current rate, the wage gap will not be eliminated until 2040,” Walsh says.

“I have worked in the women’s movement for almost 30 years on both the national and local level. I have met very few individuals as devoted to the empowerment of women - economically, politically and personally as Donna Walsh,” Catherine O’Reilly Collette, retired director of women’s rights at American Federation of State, City and County Employees in the Washington, DC office says.

A state representative since 2006 and a mentor to women seeking office, Walsh says, “In order to empower women, we must put more women into elected positions at all levels. Once we increase our numbers, the issues of racism, affirmative action, health care, economic advancement and other problems will be solved.”