Statement of John Kerry on Equal Pay Day

Statement of John Kerry on Equal Pay Day:

April 21, 2004

For Immediate Release

Today, on Equal Pay Day, I stand with millions of women across the country who are asking for simple fairness. American women are working harder than ever - but they are still earning less than men and that simply isn't fair. Today American women make only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.[1] The situation for minority women is even worse. African-American women who work full-time earn only 66 cents for every dollar earned by white men and Hispanic women earn only 54 cents for every dollar earned by white men. We must ensure that women earn equal pay for equal work and have the opportunity to acquire better paying jobs.

Fair pay is another area in which George Bush and the Republicans have let us down. Their policies have led to the loss of millions of jobs and the Bush Administration's Department of Labor eliminated the "Equal Pay Matters" initiative, a program to train women for higher-paying jobs and improve enforcement of equal pay laws. And to add insult to injury, a member of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, Diana Furchtgott-Roth has denied the existence of the wage gap and denounced efforts to address the gap.

The contrast couldn't be clearer: I have consistently stood on the side of women and tried to address the problem of unequal pay. George Bush has done nothing about the equal pay gap. As President, I will enforce the equal pay laws, improve data collection about pay disparities and provide meaningful remedies for violations of the law.