Quick Pop Quiz for you:  Is the following statement True or False?

"With equal job experiences and resumes mothers are hired 79% less of the time than non-mothers."

Wait a minute.... Think about the answer for a moment... Could it possibly be true?  Mothers a whole 79% less likely to be hired???

ANSWER: Sadly, the answer to this Pop Quiz question is True.[1]  No kidding.  I even called up the researcher myself to see if she was missing a decimal point somewhere.  No such luck.

Speaking of out-of-luck, moms in the workplace are getting a double whammy: You see, in addition to being discriminated against in hiring (79% less likely to be hired can definitely be categorized as discrimination!), mothers are also discriminated against in pay.  One study found that mothers are paid only 73 cents to a man's dollar, while single mothers are paid even less at about 60 cents to a man's dollar.[2]  Given that the U.S. Census reports over 80% of women in our nation become mothers by the time they're 44 years old, quite a lot of us are in deep trouble.

*Let's do something about it! Click here to send a letter via one-click email to your U.S. Senators now urging them to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/9251/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27310

Clicked yet? (We're hoping so!) Now please take a moment to forward this Mama Pop Quiz to your friends, family, and everyone you know.  Some good old-fashioned consciousness raising is in order here.  With three-quarters of moms in the labor force now, and an increasing number of families relying on mom as the main breadwinner in this economic downturn, it's time to spread the word and raise the roof about our unfair pay.  After all, our children are counting on our paychecks so we can feed, clothe, and help keep the roof over their heads.

So, spread the word far and wide.  Forward the quiz to all you know. And invite folks to take action along with you.

What's the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182) do anyway?  While it doesn't fix all problems with hiring and pay discrimination, it definitely moves the ball forward by doing a much-needed update to the Equal Pay Act which has not been updated since it was enacted more than 40 years ago. As you may recall, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was signed into law on Jan. 29, 2009, restored the protection against pay discrimination that was stripped away by the Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. This bill, the Paycheck Fairness Act, strengthens the Equal Pay Act by giving both employers and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) the tools they need to ensure fair pay for women. The bill helps today's families by:

- Closing the loophole in affirmative action defenses: Employers would be required to clarify acceptable reasons for differences in pay between men and women; employers must demonstrate wage gap is justifiable.

- Prohibiting employer retaliation: The legislation would deter wage discrimination by prohibiting retaliation against workers who inquire about employers' wage practice or disclose their own wages.

- Improving equal pay remedies: The bill would deter wage discrimination by strengthening penalties for equal pay violations by providing women with a fair option to proceed in an opt-out class action suit under the Equal Pay Act, and allowing women to receive punitive and compensatory damages for wage discrimination.

- Authorizing additional training for EEOC staff to better identify and handle wage disputes: It would also aid in the enforcement of federal anti-pay discriminations laws by requiring EEOC to develop regulations directing employers to collect wage data.

The House has already passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, and the Senate must act to help women and families. MOMentum is on our side (Particularly if we moms raise a ruckus).

So please don't forget to contact your U.S. Senators now in one easy click:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/9251/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27310

It take just one minute, but your emailed letter, combined with the letters of mothers across the nation, can move mountains.

Let's turn the Mama Pop Quiz answer above from True to False.

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[1] Shelley Correll, Stephen Benard & In Paik, Getting a Job: Is there a Motherhood Penalty, 112 The Am. J. of  Soc. 1297 (2007).
[2] Jane Waldfogel, "Understanding the 'Family Gap' in Pay for Women with Children,"Journal of Economic Perspectives 12, no. 1 (1998): 137-56.