“Moms' Equal Pay Day is a painful reminder that even as prime-age women are participating in the paid workforce at record-high rates, moms continue to face a punishing wage gap. Without action from Congress to root out workplace discrimination and build the care infrastructure our country needs, the wage gap will almost certainly remain unacceptably and alarmingly high. On average, moms in this country who work full-time are paid just 71 cents on the dollar paid to dads. When part- as well as full-time workers are included, the gap widens to just 63 cents on the dollar, robbing families of even more hard-earned income. 

“It’s truly outrageous that because of structural racism, moms of color experience a wage gap that is even wider and more punitive: Black moms are paid just 48 cents and Latina and Native moms just 41 cents for every dollar paid to White dads. That’s shameful and lawmakers must treat it as the emergency it is.

“Wage discrimination is unjust and unjustifiable, and the wage gap causes real harm to both families’ pocketbooks and to our economy. Moms are fed up. We are counting on Congress to pass the policies proven to help close the wage gap, including paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, and the basic workplace protections included in the Paycheck Fairness Act. It’s past time for progress and fair pay for all.”

– Statement of Taylor Austin, Campaign Manager, Workplace Justice, MomsRising

“In our country today, most families rely on moms’ incomes to make ends meet. The wage gap is an insult to the hard work moms do, which powers our families, our communities, and our economy. Wage discrimination is both driven by and worsens the challenges families face without paid family and medical leave, affordable child care, elder care and disability care, paycheck fairness policy, and other common-sense investments in care infrastructure. 

“Closing the wage gap should be a top priority for every member of Congress. That means addressing the many ways our economy punishes caregiving. We need the FAMILY Act and the Healthy Families Act to guarantee paid family and medical leave and paid sick days for all, so we can show up for our families and our work without jeopardizing our economic security.  And we need the Paycheck Fairness Act to address serious gaps in the Equal Pay Act, which is more than 60 years old. These policies would be a meaningful step toward building an economy where working families, businesses and our economy can thrive. 

“Women and moms have driven our country's recent economic growth, and we won’t accept anything less than fair pay. We will continue to raise our voices and our votes until everyone is paid fairly, and our economy works for working families.” 

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