Equal Pay Day Marked by Movement to Address Wage Gap
Press Release
Equal Pay Day Marked by Movement to Address Wage Gap
Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) marked Equal Pay Day - the number of days into a new year that women have to work before earning what men made by December 31 - by testifying at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing focused on the effects of the pay gap and a legislative remedy, the Paycheck Fairness Act. (Click here to watch video of DeLauro testifying) This will be the first Congressional hearing on pay gap. Following this, DeLauro participated in a rally with hundreds of individuals in support of wage equity at an Equal Pay Day rally on Capitol Hill.
"We have made strides in the American workplace during the last quarter century, but our work is not done," DeLauro said at the rally. "Closing the wage gap is about fairness, opportunity and values. Closing the wage gap is a matter of ensuring that women who work hard and productively and carry a full range of family responsibilities, are paid at a rate they are entitled. Closing the wage gap is not a women's issue. It is a family issue."
DeLauro, who has worked to eliminate the wage gap for the past decade, is the House sponsor of The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338) - legislation that will take critical steps to empower women to negotiate for equal pay, create strong incentives for employers to obey the laws that are in place, and strengthen federal outreach and enforcement efforts. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.
Continued DeLauro, "That is why I have reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act. That is also why, just this morning, I was so proud to testify before the House Committee on Education and Labor, about our legislation during the first-ever hearing in the Congress on equal pay. To be sure, this morning's hearing was long overdue, but it was also a welcome sign of the new majority's new direction. For all of the woman and families who are tired of being shortchanged, it is about time."
Specifically, the bill would:
· Require the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers to eliminate pay disparities;
* Prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers;
* Allow women to sue for punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages now available under the Equal Pay Act.
* Require the Department of Labor to continue collecting and disseminating information about women workers; and
* Create a new grant program to help strengthen the negotiation skills of girls and women.
Below is DeLauro's testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee on the Paycheck Fairness Act ([as prepared for delivery):
"Chairman Miller, thank you very much for the opportunity to testify before the Committee on Education and Labor this morning.
"I want to thank you very much for stepping up and holding what is the first-ever hearing in the House of Representatives on equal pay. The very fact that it has taken this institution so long to confront our nation's wage gap is a sad illustration of how far we still have to go.
"It is long overdue, but, the fact that we are here today is a welcome change. Your strong support represents the new priorities and new direction of the 110th Congress. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
"How meaningful it is, as well, that we have gathered here you hold this hearing on this particular day. As you know, every April, advocates for equal pay mark the day on which the wages paid to American women "catch up" to the wages paid to men from the previous year. This year that day is April 24th. It is time to look at the calendar and time to look at our own values as a nation.
"To be sure, women have made great progress since the enactment of the Fair Pay Act more than 40 years ago. Today, nearly half the workforce is made up of women. Women are more likely to have an advanced degree than men. And there are more than 6 million businesses in America are owned by women
"But for all those gains, a significant wage gap exists. We have a moral obligation to understand and explain the reasons behind that gap. And we must continue working tirelessly until we have closed it entirely.
"According to the General Accountability Office (GAO) the weekly earnings of full-time working women were about three-fourths of men's during 2001.
"The report was prepared from a study of the earnings history of over 9,300 Americans for the last 18 years. Even accounting for factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure, the GAO reports, working women today earn an average of 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.
"The issue of pay equity goes to the heart of what matters to working women. It is about ensuring that women who work hard and productively and carry a full range of family responsibilities are paid at a rate they are entitled. I often say pay equity is not a women's issue. It is a family issue.
"In today's world, economic reality and economic insecurity mandate two-earner families, where possible. In many families, the inequity of the pay gap falls hardest upon children, because so many working women are the primary breadwinners in their households. In fact, nearly two-thirds of working women provide half or more of their household income, and 41 percent of women are their families' sole source of income.
"Short-changing women of their due, short-changes their entire families, undermines their dreams, and limits their hopes. Closing the wage gap must be an integral part of any pro family agenda.
"As we will hear from American Academy of University Women today, even education does not significantly close the wage gap. A typical college-educated woman working full-time earned $9,500 a year less than a college-educated man, sending the message that no matter how hard women work or how advanced their degree, they will not be compensated fairly.
"No one should be forced to consider a trade-off between a full wage, a family life, and a good job. Yet that is what is happening. Men with children appear to get an earnings boost, while women get just the opposite. According to the GAO, men with children earn about 2 percent more than men without children, while women with children earn about 2.5 percent less than women without children.
"We will also be hearing from a former Wal-Mart employee, and if you look nationwide, the only word to describe what is happening in their stores is: discrimination. Women hold 70 percent of sales associate positions at the retailer, but less than a third of management jobs. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Wal-Mart faces the largest class action lawsuit in history for these practices, with 1.6 million women in all filing suit.
"That is one reason - or perhaps it is 1.6 million reasons - I have reintroduced The Paycheck Fairness Act, together with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, to help address this problem and give teeth to the Equal Pay Act. The marketplace alone will not correct this injustice - that is why we need a legislative solution.
"The bill would require the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers to eliminate pay disparities. It would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers and stiffen penalties for employers in violation of the Equal Pay Act. And it would require the Department of Labor to resume collecting and disseminating information about women workers and create a new grant program that would help strengthen women's salary negotiation skills.
"Pay equity is not just another budget item to be bargained for, or bargained away. It is an integral piece of the larger effort we are all part of - an effort to help women gain economic security for themselves and their families.
"This is a common sense issue that affects all women and their families. By erasing this gap in the labor market we can help families gain the resources they need to ensure their children have access to a better future in the 21st century.
"We should not underestimate the power of one big idea whose time has come. And today, I look around and I think: our time has come. Our time is now. I know you will all continue to fight for what is right.
"Thank you Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member McKeon, I look forward to your questions."
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