Statement
STATEMENT OF KRISTIN ROWE-FINKBEINER, Executive Director of MomsRising.org, On Equal Pay Day
April 9, 2013
Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996
On Equal Pay Day, Leader of Moms Group Urges Congress to Pass Paycheck Fairness Act
“This past Sunday marked the season premiere of the TV show 'Mad Men.' A show that takes us back to the 1960’s when people smoked at work, took three martini lunches and didn’t wear seatbelts. It was also a time when women earned significantly less than men did for the same job (assuming they would even be considered for the job). Now, decades later, women are still earning less than men.
“Today is Equal Pay Day. The day that marks how far into 2013 women have to work to earn what men earned for the same work in 2012. It took us more than three months to catch up. And that’s shameful.
“The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963 but 50 years later, its promise still has not been realized. We cannot wait any longer. Quite simply: Women still need equal pay for equal work.
“Women who work full time, year-round earn 77 cents to every dollar their male counterparts earn. The wage gap for Black and Hispanic is even greater – 62 cents and 53 cents, respectively, for every dollar their white male counterparts earn. And moms take an even bigger wage hit. Mothers with a partner earn 73 cents to a man’s dollar and single mothers earn only 60 cents on the dollar.
"Women's economic security is directly linked to national economic security. Women make three-quarters of purchasing decisions in our nation. And when women don't have adequate funds in their pockets, our entire economy - which for better or worse is now built on consumer spending - suffers.
“Equal pay for equal work is critical to ensuring our families’ economic security - and our national economic prosperity. That’s why we need Congress to step up and stand up for families by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. This act would strengthen the equal pay act by prohibiting employers from retaliating when workers discuss their salaries; making gender-based wage discrimination subject to the same laws as discrimination based on race or national origin; recognizing employers for excellence in their pay practices and provide assistance to employers that need help implementing equal pay practices; enhancing federal government’s ability to investigate and enforce pay discrimination laws; and more.
“This legislation is long overdue. We cannot wait another 44 years to close the wage gap and we shouldn’t. Let’s finally put the ‘Madmen’ wage gap behind us.”