It's Time for #EqualPayNow
Equal Pay Day is today, April 14th – the day a woman's wages finally catch up to what men were paid in the previous year. And in the spirit of this day, here are some facts to observe:
$0.78 – Amount women make on average for every dollar earned by men, amounting to an annual gap of $10,876 between full-time working women and men.
$0.64 – Amount of money African American women earn for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.
$0.56 – Amount Latinas earn for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men.
$435,049 – Amount of money lost throughout a woman's working life-time as a result of the pay gap.
2– Number of times a Democratic-controlled House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act.
7 – Number of times House Republicans voted to block equal pay for equal work in the 113th Congress.
193 – Number of House Democrats co-sponsoring the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2015 (which is all House Democrats).
2058– The year women will finally see pay equity, based on the rate that the pay gap has been closing since 1960, while in some states it being much later, with Wyoming not seeing pay equity until 2159.
0 – Number of mentions of "Equal Pay" by Speaker Boehner and GOP Leaders in this morning's House GOP Press Conference.
Yet that hasn't stopped Republicans from paying lip service to this vital issue:
Equal pay for equal work. House Republicans continue to pursue solutions that will empower all Americans.bit.ly/1I7jYxb
- On March 26, Senate Republicans introduced a wholly inadequate messaging bill as they scramble for cover on the equal pay issue. They have blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act again and again. Now they have come forward with a "fig-leaf" Fischer bill that includes only one provision of the Paycheck Fairness Act – prohibiting employers from retaliating against workers who share salary information. The Fischer bill leaves out all of the other key provisions of the Paycheck Fairness Act, provisions that give the Equal Pay Act of 1963 teeth – including requiring employers to show that pay disparity is truly related to job performance, not gender; and providing effective remedies for women suffering pay discrimination.
These headlines describe what is unacceptable in today's world. Just as we have done in the past, Congressional Democrats will continue fighting for the Paycheck Fairness Act, continue fighting for equality in the workplace. And, as Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said:
It is simply wrong that 52 years after President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, there is still a pay gap between women and men in America.
This is about the dignity of work, the opportunity to get ahead, and the prosperity that improves the lives of our hard-working families. On this Equal Pay Day, we must work together to make equal pay for equal work a reality for all Americans so we can ensure all families have the resources needed to keep America moving forward.