"Today - on the seventh anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - women and mothers across the country stand with President Obama in the ongoing fight for equal pay. The EEOC's new rule requiring large companies to report pay data on gender, race and ethnicity will help break down barriers that leave too many American's shortchanged at work.

 

The reality is that women now make up more than half the U.S. workforce, and moms are the primary or co-breadwinners in three-quarters of America's households. Shockingly, being a mother is now a greater predictor of wage and hiring discrimination than gender alone. When companies pay women less - roughly 79 cents for every dollar men earn, and even less for moms and for women of color - they hurt America's families and the economy. In fact studies show that our GDP would increase by 3% with pay parity.

 

The new EEOC measures are an important step forward. But our work isn’t done. Congress must take action on the bipartisan Paycheck Fairness Act to help ensure that employers pay all their employees based on performance, not gender.”