Groups on campus and around the U.S. called on Congress to pass legislation Tuesday geared toward providing women equal compensation as men in the workforce as part of Pay Equity Day.

The day signifies the amount of additional time on average a woman would have to work to earn the same pay received by men in 2013 in comparable positions. Tuesday marked the 99th day of the year, meaning that women would have had to work 464 days to a man’s 365 to have equal annual earnings on average.

President Barack Obama called on Senate Republicans not to hold up a bill, The Paycheck Fairness Act, aimed at expanding the ability for people to collect monetary damages based on pay discrimination.

“I don’t care whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, if you’re a voter — if you’ve got a daughter — if you’ve got a sister — you’ve got a mom — this is something you should care about,” he said.

Obama also signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from disciplining employees for discussing their compensation with one another.

“The issues are real,” said Jane Stanley, president of the Fresno branch of American Association of University Women (AAUM). “The pay gap has not budged in a decade with women being paid 77 percent of what men are paid.”

Citing the U.S. Census Bureau, the group points to occupations like physicians and surgeons where women earned $120,971 on average compared with $190,726 for men.

Members of the AAUM were on campus Tuesday to talk about current legislation and galvanize calls for pay equity.

One, Mariann Powell, said, “As a mother of one daughter and a grandmother of five granddaughters, some graduating from college this year and others entering college, I am looking for changes. Hopefully there are some out there.”