LANSING - Women and men from all over the state of Michigan wore red and gather together at the Capitol to recognize Equal Pay Day.

The rally was free and open to the public with one main message; equal work for equal pay. Wearing the color red represents women are still "in the red" when it comes to pay compared to men.

The U.S. Census Bureau data currently indicates women make 77 cents for every one dollar a man makes. That's a 23 percent pay gap and a 23 percent gap that women and men are fighting to change.

According to a study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, at the current rate women in Michigan will catch up to male's pay by the year 2086. Many legislators were present for the beginning of the rally to show their support, but soon had to leave for afternoon session.

Speakers for the event shared their stories of struggles and the fight for equal pay. One message that very clear during the event, is that without help from your local and state legislators, equal pay cannot be achieved.

Darlene Lee, CEO of Darling Communications explained one aspect that could help women achieve equal pay, "Women need to expanded their resources and they need to include men and engage men in this conversation. When women expand their resources, I'm talking about male resources, they can find out what men make; sometimes it's the not knowing that prevents women from getting the equal pay."

Before the rally began participants had an opportunity to register and listen to the Pay Equity Briefing.

The briefing was held across the street at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. At the briefing Speakers presented the organizations they were their to represent and discussed bills that will soon be voted on that either should or should not be supported as they related to equal pay.

Equal Pay Day takes every year during the second Tuesday in April. Women are hoping that next year's Rally will be a celebration for finally winning the battle for equal pay.