DeLauro Recognizes Anniversary of Equal Pay Act

Statement

Calls for Senate action on Paycheck Fairness Act

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) issued the following statement today recognizing the 47th anniversary of the enactment of the Equal Pay Act and calling for the Senate to take action on the Paycheck Fairness Act:

"The Equal Pay Act was a huge step forward for all Americans, making it against the law for women to be discriminated against in the workplace--but it is not enough. According to a new poll, women in our country today make up half the workforce, and a full two-thirds of them are either the sole breadwinner or the co-breadwinner in their family. 10 million businesses are run by women, and yet, women still only make 77 cents on the dollar as compared to men. And if you break that statistic down further, you find that African American women make 61 cents on the dollar, and Hispanic women only make a paltry 52 cents. This is unacceptable.

"Those of us who serve in the House of Representatives, men and women, from different parts of the country, with different education, and different skills, all get paid the same amount of money. That is not true for most women in this nation. We have passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that would give real teeth to the Equal Pay Act at last. It is the next step in this fight, and would make sure that women are respected and valued for the job that they do and paid the same amount of money in the same job that any man may have. We wait only for the United States Senate to act, and I urge them to listen to the President's call for passage of this legislation. We have a moral obligation to face this continuing pay inequity head-on. It's time to get it done."

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