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Statement

STATEMENT OF KRISTIN ROWE-FINKBEINER, CEO and Executive Director, MomsRising, On the President’s Executive Action on Equal Pay

April 8, 2014
Equal Pay

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Leader of Moms’ Organization Praises Presidential Action on Equal Pay, Urges Congress to Pass Paycheck Fairness Act
“As an organization that represents more than a million women and mothers who regularly experience the negative effects of wage discrimination, we at MomsRising applaud the President for taking action to fight wage discrimination for employees of federal contractors.
 
“Transparency is crucial in efforts to address this discrimination. As Lilly Ledbetter’s case proved, being able to ask about and disclose information about wages can help employees take steps to right wrongs. They must be able to do that without fear of retaliation.
 
“The President’s action is enormously significant. It will affect some 26 million workers. Now it’s time for Congress to act and ensure that the members of the entire U.S. workforce are protected from retaliation for asking about their employers’ pay practices or their own wages. Members of Congress can do that by voting for the Paycheck Fairness Act. That bill, introduced by Senator Barbara Mikulski, is up for a vote this week in the Senate.
 
“More than a decade into the 21st Century, women are still earning, on average, 77 cents to a man's dollar. This disparity is even greater for moms, single moms and women of color. When moms experience wage discrimination, their families, and our national economy, also suffer.  Increasingly, families need two wage earners to make ends meet, and the struggle to feed and house a family can be even greater for single moms. Not acting to right the wrong of wage discrimination is not only callous, not only devalues women's important contributions in workplaces, but also negatively impacts our overall economy.
 
“Today is Equal Pay Day, the date that marks the approximate extra time the average U.S. woman would need to earn as much as the average man did in the prior year. We look forward to the day when women and men reach pay parity on the same date. The President’s action is getting us closer to that time.”
 

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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.