DeLauro Honors 45th Anniversary of Equal Pay Day

Press Release

As the Education and Labor Committee is poised to mark-up the Paycheck Fairness Act - legislation aimed at closing the wage gap in the earnings between men and women - Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) issued the following statement on the 45th anniversary of Equal Pay Act.

"We have made significant strides in our effort to shut the door on the wage gap, but there is much more to do. Pay equity goes to the heart of what matters to working women. It is about ensuring that all women who work hard and carry a full range of family responsibilities are paid at a rate they are entitled. Pay equity is not a women's issue, it is a family issue," said DeLauro.

Forty-five years ago today President John Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act and called it the first step in addressing "the unconscionable practice of paying female employees less wages than male employees for the same job." At that time women earned 59 cents for each dollar earned by a man. While the wage gap between men and women has narrowed somewhat over the last four and a half decades, women today still earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.

"Between 1963 and today, the wage gap has narrowed by less than half a cent a year. At this rate, it would take about another 50 years before men and women reach parity in pay in this country," said DeLauro. "Women should not have to wait that long and with this economy, their families cannot wait that long.

"This Congress, for the first time since the law was introduced, has already held two hearings on the legislation and the Education and Labor Committee is making preparations to mark-up the bill. I have fought to get the bill this far and I will continue fighting to make sure it gets a full vote on the House floor."

The Paycheck Fairness Act builds on the progress of the Equal Pay Act and works to close the persistent gap in the earnings of men and women. It strengthens the Equal Pay Act by providing more effective remedies to women who are not being paid equal wages for doing equal work. The bill would also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers.

"With the Paycheck Fairness Act, we will finally be able to close the wage gap. We will increase the tools women have at their disposal to confront discrimination in the workplace and give teeth to the Equal Pay Act."

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