|
(Washington, DC) -- Forty-two years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Equal Pay Day serves as a reminder to all Americans that there is still work to be done to bridge the wage gap. Women represent more than half the population, but in terms of policies to assist women in their struggle to achieve financial security, they lag behind their male counterparts.
We recognize Equal Pay Day in April because the month is symbolic of the four additional months that a woman would need to work each year, just to equal their male co-workers yearly wages.
Women today are still paid only 76 cents to a man's dollar. In my home state of Florida, women fair slightly better, but still lag behind, earning approximately 81 cents for each dollar a man makes. At the current rate of wage growth, Florida's working women won't have equal pay until after the year 2050!
These statistics talk of working women, but sadly, more than 3 million women in America are looking for work and 20 million do not even have health insurance.
Women and people of color have less money to save, so they will have fewer resources to sustain them in their retirement years. As Chair of the House Democratic Caucus Jobs and Economy Task Force, I will work with my colleagues to ensure that we bridge the wage gap and that equally qualified women and people of color are not short-changed in the workplace.
Women must mark Equal Pay Day, April 19, by making their voices heard. We must continue to support policies in Congress that promote equality such as the FAIRNESS Act, which protects workers from discrimination on the basis of race, age, disability, or gender, and we must fight for legislation that demands equal pay for equal work and increases the minimum wage.
Women want what all Americans want: an equal opportunity to succeed, a secure retirement, good-paying jobs, better access to health care, and a bright future for their children. We don't pay less for the food we buy at the grocery store than men do. We don't pay less for gas than men do. We don't pay less for our homes than men do. Since that continues to be the case, why should we be paid less than men in the workplace for equal work? We shouldn't! |
|
