“It is vital that young girls have role models they can look to so that the next generation of women have the courage and commitment to be leaders,” Governor Gina Raimondo said on April 14 during a conference call with other female champions for equal pay amongst the genders.

Emily’s List, which hosted the conference call, was founded in 1985.

The political organization supports pro-choice Democratic female political candidates, raises awareness for women’s issues and turns out female voters for elections.

The 14th was Equal Pay Day, a national day to raise awareness about gender discrimination in pay.

The date represents how far a woman would have to work into the next year to make the same as a man in a single year working in the same position. According to a study performed by the American Association of University Women, Rhode Island ranks 19th on the gender pay equality scale. The report found that in 2014 Rhode Island women made an average of $9,240 less than men for the year. The gap was smallest in Washington, D.C., where it was $5,850, and greatest in Louisiana at $16,453.

Jess McIntosh, vice president for communications for Emily’s List, said, “We are not celebrating this day; we are marking it.”

Currently, a woman makes, on average, 78 cents to every dollar a man makes and for African American women the average drops to 64 cents and 54 cents for Hispanic and Latino women.

“This important issue affects every single American family. More than 50 years after the Equal Pay Act, women are still making less than men,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily’s List.

She said going into the 2016 elections, there are already several Republican candidates who seem stuck in “some kind of ‘Mad Men’ time warp,” when it comes to women, especially the pay gap.

Both Rand Paul and Ted Cruz voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act that would make wages more transparent, require employers prove discrepancies in pay are legitimate and prohibit employers from taking retaliatory action when an employee raises any concern about discrimination in pay.

Schriock said, “There is only one party that is paying women what they rightfully deserve. Republicans won’t even admit that pay discrimination is a problem.”

She said that 2015 is the year for a big push for women’s rights before the elections and the conference called together several leaders to discuss policy solutions to wage gap.

Raimondo, whose staff is 50 percent female, was the first speaker and discussed her efforts to combat discrimination and how equal pay for equal work can actually benefit the economy.

She told a story of explaining the wage gap to her daughter who replied, “well, that’s just stupid.”

Raimondo said, “Straight from the mouth of a 10-year-old.”

Because families are more reliant on women’s wages to support a family, by paying female employees what they deserve, Raimondo said Rhode Island can attract first rate businesses by creating more productive work places and putting money right back into the economy.

“Our economy here in Rhode Island is struggling. I am working on getting us all back to work to put money in the pockets of families,” she said.

In her first 100 days as governor, Raimondo also established the Rhode Island Pay Equity Tip Line in March.

Operated by the Department of Labor and Training, this line allows callers to confidentially report employers for violating state law that prohibits gender-based pay discrimination.

“This empowers the government to investigate and enforce the law,” Raimondo said. “We need to let businesses know we aren’t going to tolerate pay discrimination.”

She said that doesn’t mean every business does have a gendered wage gap, but takes a step to ensuring equal pay for equal work across the state.

“There are companies out there doing the right things and it is important to recognize that,” she said.

Other speakers included California Congressman Norma Torres and Minnesota State Representative Erin Murphy, who both discussed their experiences with a wage gap themselves and their fights to implement equal pay legislation.

Torres worked to ensure caregivers, an occupation dominated by women, were paid the minimum wage and Murphy helped pass the Women’s Security Act.

“Decades have passed since we began the fight for equal rights. We shouldn’t have to, but it’s unfortunate that we are still fighting,” Torres said.

Murphy said, “Information is power and if women understand they are not being paid fairly, they can and will do something about it.”

Undeniably, all three women expressed how important it was to fight for women’s rights to ensure equality for the next generation of young women.

Torres said, “Women need to be able to see themselves as CEOs of huge corporations, see themselves in Congress. We need to push and urge young girls to see what they can and will do. Our future as a country is dependent on their success.”

For Women’s History Month in March, Raimondo held an essay contest for young girls where they said what they would do as governor for a day.

“Reading their essays was powerful because at such a young age they knew what we needed to do; make sure all girls have the same opportunity as boys and that starts with equal pay,” Raimondo said.

Rhode Island’s Pay Equity Tip Line can be reached at 462-WAGE (9243).