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Statement

Fair Pay for Women Is In Mitch McConnell’s Hands, After House Passes Paycheck Fairness Act

March 27, 2019
Equal Pay

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from leaders of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7) in the U.S. House of Representatives today:

“Today’s passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act in the House of Representatives is a major step forward in closing the pernicious wage gap that harms women, families, our economy, and our country every single day. This bill will help prevent women from being shortchanged on our paychecks because of our gender and/or race. We thank every representative who voted for it and commend Speaker Pelosi and the House leadership for prioritizing its passage.

“At MomsRising, we regularly hear from women experiencing unfair pay, who fear retaliation in their workplaces and therefore can’t speak up, and who need the protections the Paycheck Fairness Act would provide: freedom from retaliation; making it easier to collectively challenge pay discrimination; an end to the use of prior salary histories to set current salaries; and the additional protections that would finally move us closer to pay parity. They are looking for progress now and that is why our focus turns to U.S. Senate Majority Leader McConnell, who holds the future of this essential bill in his hands. We see a lot of positioning from Republicans, who want to be seen as supporting family- and women-friendly policies; and now it’s time to put that positioning to action and to a vote. The Paycheck Fairness Act must move forward. It would provide a much-needed boost for working women, moms and families. Its passage is long overdue. America’s moms demand an up-or-down vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act in the United States Senate very soon.”

--Statement of Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO, MomsRising

“Women are experiencing unfair pay every day in this nation, with moms and women of color experiencing the highest levels of wage and hiring discrimination. Too many women and moms are working hard, being paid unfairly, surviving paycheck to paycheck, and falling into poverty as they struggle to raise their families. We need the Paycheck Fairness Act to help eliminate the bias and discriminatory practices that are driving down women’s wages, to increase pay transparency and strengthen penalties for wage discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act is about the women of America, our families, our economy, and our children’s future. The U.S. Senate must pass it now.”

--Statement of Ruth Martin, Vice President, Workplace Justice Campaigns, MomsRising

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.