Keep Up the Fight for Paycheck Fairness

This week the President renewed his call for Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. He did so in his weekly address, which came on the heels of a White House report that evaluated the status of women on a number of measures, including in education, health, and economic security.

In many ways the White House report was an update to the Roosevelt commission on the status of women, and the President notably paid homage to Eleanor Roosevelt in the address, crediting her with moving the government to examine and begin to address barriers that women face in all aspects of their lives. Nearly 50 years ago, when the Roosevelt commission first convened, double-standard pay scales were the norm and women made only 59 percent of the wages paid to men. Yet, the wage gap persists - women working fulltime are paid, on average, 23 percent less than the wages paid to men. 

With so much at stake, a serious effort must be made to address the stagnant gap in wages. This is why it is so critical that Congress heed the President’s call and move forward with the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Paycheck Fairness Act would provide workers with the tools they need to help close the wage gap, including prohibiting retaliation against workers who inquire about their wages; requiring employers to demonstrate that wage differences between men and women doing the same work have a business justification; and ensuring that women can obtain the same remedies as those subject to other forms of discrimination.

For average fulltime working women, the gap in wages translates into a loss of nearly $11,000 a year. Given that 4 in 10 women are the breadwinners for their family and even more are significant contributors to their family income, that gap has real consequences for families. As the President explained over the weekend, "at a time when folks across this country are struggling to make ends meet – and many families are just trying to get by on one paycheck after a job loss - [the gap in wages is] a reminder that achieving equal pay for equal work isn't just a women's issue. It’s a family issue."

The President went on to express his disappointment that the Paycheck Fairness Act had not yet passed.

In one of my first acts as President, I signed a law so that women who've been discriminated against in their salaries could have their day in court to make it right. But there are steps we should take to prevent that from happening in the first place. That’s why I was so disappointed when an important bill to give women more power to stop pay disparities - the Paycheck Fairness Act - was blocked by just two votes in the Senate. And that's why I’m going to keep up the fight to pass the reforms in that bill.

We join the President in his call - passing the Paycheck Fairness Act is an economic imperative for women and their families.