As Century Closes, Women's Wage Gap Is Still An Issue According to Gallup Poll of Women & Men; Sara Lee Corporation Women's Roundtable VI to Focus on "Equal Pay for Equal Work".

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1999--

Is the women's wage gap still an issue? As the 20th century comes to a close, many Americans believe women's pay has come of age. But, for many, the pay equity debate rages on. This critical discussion will be moved forward by 12 distinguished women leaders - all with distinct viewpoints on the topic - at the Sara Lee Corporation Women's Roundtable on October 14.

Titled "Equal Pay for Equal Work: The Challenge of Making it Real," it is being held at the International Women's Forum 1999 Global Conference in Washington, D.C., with an expected audience of 500 women.

Results of a recent Gallup poll, conducted for the Women's Roundtable show that three out of every four women (75%) and four out of seven men (58%) believe we still need laws to guarantee equal pay for women. Of that group, 65% said that women workers have not achieved equal pay across occupations, with women and older respondents feeling significantly stronger in their views. More than half (56%) of those surveyed thought their wages were equal to that of their co-workers of the opposite sex holding the same job, particularly the men in the group.

Carole Simpson, senior correspondent, ABC News, will chair the debate among participants who will cover both sides of the issue. Judy Mann, columnist, Washington Post and Sakiko Fukida-Parr, director, Human Development Report, United Nations Development Program, will open the session with presentations on the national and international views on the wage gap. Other Roundtable participants include Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, CEO, the polling company; Marcia Greenberger, president, National Women's Law Center; Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C. Delegate, U.S. House of Representatives, and Muriel Siebert, president, Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc.

"For the past five years, Sara Lee has sponsored the Women's Roundtable to bring attention to the critical issues facing women and the society as a whole," said Elynor A. Williams, vice president, public responsibility, Sara Lee Corporation.

The latest U.S. Census statistics show that women make an average 74 cents for every dollar men make and a recent Catalyst study found that fewer than three percent of the highest-paid officers at Fortune 500 companies are women. So what's the debate? "We will hear differing views from our participants on their analysis of a wage gap and how market forces along with women's choices affect women and the real challenges they and our country face today," added Williams.

Other participants in the Sixth Annual Sara Lee Corporation Women's Roundtable are: Myrna Blyth, editor-in-chief & publishing director, Ladies Home Journal; Patricia S. Harrison, co-chair, Republican National Committee; Irene Natividad, former chair, National Commission on Working Women; Terry Savage, financial advisor, author & PBS commentator; Sanya Tyler, head women's basketball coach, Howard University; Karen Hastie Williams, partner, Crowell & Moring LLP; and Diane Furchtgott-Roth, resident fellow, American Enterprise Institute.

"We look forward to the ideas that will be contributed by this year's excellent panel of participants," said Gary Grom, senior vice president, human resources, Sara Lee Corporation. "Creativity comes from having a team of people from different backgrounds and with different ideas. That is a spirit that all corporations should embrace."

Sara Lee is a global consumer packaged goods company with more than $20 billion in annual revenues. Its leading brands include Sara Lee, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Hanes, Coach and Playtex.