News release
Don’t Shortchange Moms and Daughters!
April 12, 2011
Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996
Moms Deliver a Petition and Change Purses to Members of Congress
Today, April 12, marks the date in 2011 when women will have finally earned the same amount of money, for the same work, that men earned in 2010. And this morning, MomsRising.org took to the halls of Congress to make sure lawmakers took note of Equal Pay Day, by delivering a memento and a clear message: “Don’t shortchange moms and daughters – families need equal pay for equal work.”
Moms and their children delivered change purses to Members of the U.S. Senate, along with stories from women across the country who have experienced pay discrimination. They also delivered an open letter to Congress, signed by thousands of MomsRising members, asking Congress to support fair pay policies.
“It’s unacceptable that women still earn less than their male counterparts for the same work,” said MomsRising Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “A wage gap compromises families’ economic security – especially in the millions of households where women are the primary breadwinners. When families are already struggling in the economic downturn, this kind of inequality only further compounds their suffering.”
Today, MomsRising also hosted a fair pay blogathon on its web site, featuring several Member of Congress sharing their perspectives on the importance of closing the wage gap.
Data recently released by the U.S. Census found that women who worked full-time, year-round on average still made 23 cents less for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. The wage gap for women of color in 2009 was even more staggering than for women overall. When Black and Hispanic women work full-time, year-round, they only make 62 and 53 cents, respectively, for every dollar their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts earn. At this rate it will take another 45 years, or until 2056, for women and men to reach pay equity.
MomsRising has also strongly advocated for the successful passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and has been advocating fair pay practices by supporting Betty Dukes and the “Women of Wal-Mart,” who testified before the Supreme Court this month on the gender discrimination and unfair pay policies of their employer. MomsRising collected encouraging messages from their members, which they delivered to the plaintiffs on the morning of their testimony.