Pelosi Statement on Equal Pay Day

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement marking Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year:

"Seventy-four days into 2022, American women's wages have finally caught up with what men earned in 2021. Every year, Equal Pay Day reminds us of the systemic economic barriers holding back not only women, but our entire nation. More than four in ten women serve as their families' primary breadwinners, yet they take home only 83 cents for every dollar made by their male colleagues – a gap even wider for women of color. And tragically, over the last two years, the pandemic has inflicted an additional toll: putting millions of women out of work and forcing many out of the labor force entirely.

"Democrats know that when women succeed, America succeeds. That is why, nearly 60 years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, and more than a decade after President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act, Democrats are continuing to fight for the bedrock principle of equal pay for equal work. The Democratic House has twice passed Chair Rosa DeLauro's Paycheck Fairness Act, most recently last April — and it was a moment of great pride that President Biden called for its passage in the Senate in his State of the Union address. With this landmark legislation, we will strengthen and modernize the Equal Pay Act so that America's women are empowered to take home every dollar they have earned.

"Fairness is an all-American value. This Equal Pay Day, during Women's History Month, and every day, let us reaffirm our commitment to advancing the fundamental fairness of our economy and building a future where all can earn a fair wage and chase their dreams."