Rangel Demands Equal Pay for Women

Press Release

Congressman Charles B. Rangel, who represents the 13th Congressional District of New York that includes Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, urged the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act in honor of this year's Equal Pay Day. Equal Pay Day symbolizes when, more than three months into the year, women's wages finally catch up to what men were paid in the previous year because women earn only 78 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

"Today, women make up about half of the workforce and it's wrong that on average they are still being paid less than men," Rangel said. "A woman deserves equal pay for equal work. While the women of New York enjoy the most pay equity of any state in the union at nearly 86 cents per dollar, I will not stop fighting until complete wage equality is achieved."

The Paycheck Fairness Act is a central pillar of the House Democrats' When Women Succeed, America Succeeds: An Economic Agenda for Women and Families. It strengthens and closes loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

Among its many provisions, the Paycheck Fairness Act requires employers to prove pay disparity is unrelated to gender; strengthens remedies for women experiencing pay discrimination; prohibits employer retaliation for sharing salary information with coworkers; and empowers working women through programs that teach salary negotiation and other workplace skills.

"Equal pay is not simply a woman's issue -- it's a family issue," Rangel concluded. "Many women are the breadwinners in their households and families increasingly rely on women's wages to make ends meet. When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families -- groceries, rent, child care, doctors' visits. House Democrats will not rest until we achieve true pay equity for women -- ensuring that all women in the workforce are receiving equal pay for equal work."

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