At this point, it’s pretty common knowledge that the average woman only earns 77 cents to their male counterpart’s dollar. Translated to a whopping $10,622 less a year, and the gap is even more substantial when both gender and race are factored in together. Introduced in January of 2009, the Paycheck Fairness Act was passed in the House on January 9, 2009, but was unfortunately defeated in the Senate, 58-41, on November 17, 2010. So let’s try this again!!! We need to fully close the wage gap and end wage discrimination forever.
The Paycheck Fairness Act was introduced by the then-Senator Hillary Clinton and Rep. Rosa DeLauro to strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963. In lieu of Equal Pay Day, ask your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Act NOW! The Recession has impacted all demographics across the United States, especially the female-headed households that make up about 85% of single parent families. The wage gap amounts to almost three months worth of women’s work and should definitely not be ignored. It’s important we act now, as unemployment is outrageously high and more and more households are dependent entirely on women’s wages.
Help spread the word and GET INVOLVED! Check out the Paycheck Fairness Act fact sheet while you’re at it.
[Picture from here.]
