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On Equal Pay Day, N.H.-Based Bakery to Charge Women 79 Cents on the Dollar

Don Brueggemann, manager of The Works Bakery in Concord.
Michael Brindley/NHPR
Don Brueggemann, manager of The Works Bakery in Concord.
Don Brueggemann, manager of The Works Bakery in Concord.
Credit Michael Brindley/NHPR
Don Brueggemann, manager of The Works Bakery in Concord.

A New Hampshire-based bakery chain is showing its support for Equal Pay Day Tuesday by giving female customers a break on their bills.

Women who visit The Works bakery locations in Concord, Keene, Portsmouth and Durham today will be charged only 79 percent of their bills.

Men will still have to pay full price.Broadcast version

That’s meant to highlight the oft-cited statistic of women earning 79 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts.

“It’s been a problem that’s been around for a really long time, decades I would say," said Don Brueggemann, manager of The Works in Concord. "And I think many of us thought it would kind of work itself out but it has been very persistent over the years. We’re feeling like this is a way to highlight that issue."

Brueggemann says he’s not worried about the financial hit his bakery will take with the loss in revenue for the day.

A poster outside The Works Bakery in Concord highlights its Equal Pay Day initiative.
Credit Michael Brindley/NHPR
A poster outside The Works Bakery in Concord highlights its Equal Pay Day initiative.

“In terms of highlighting the issue, I think it’s a relatively inexpensive way to do that. It’s kind of a clever way, I think,” he said. “It brings it right to the fore in a way just the statistic does not.”

Some have challenged the 79-cents-on-the-dollar figure, but Brueggemann says that’s splitting hairs over an important issue.

“It’s certainly a figure where you can come to a slightly different percentage, but I don’t think anyone has argued that there is parity between men and women.”

And Brueggemann says The Works practices what it preaches.

“Absolutely we do,” he said. “I would be willing to show people that it is what we do.”

Copyright 2016 New Hampshire Public Radio

Rick joined NHPR as morning host in January 2009. He has a 20 year career in radio including on-air work at stations in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire in formats from rock to classical. He was co-owner of an FM station in Maine in the mid 90s. Rick spent the last ten years as Operations Manager and Morning Host of WPNH-FM, Plymouth NH and Production Director for Northeast Communications Corporations' five-station group. He also writes occasional pieces on media and music for the Hippo, Manchester's weekly paper, and voices radio and TV spots on a freelance basis.
Michael serves as NHPR's Program Director, and as Executive Producer of The Exchange. Michael came to NHPR in 2012, working as the station's newscast producer/reporter. In 2015, he took on the role of Morning Edition producer. Michael worked for eight years at The Telegraph of Nashua, covering education and working as the metro editor. Michael started his career in journalism working as a reporter for the Derry News. Michael is a New Hampshire native, born and raised in Nashua. He studied journalism at Keene State College.

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