Title
Proclaiming April 24, 2007 as Equal Pay Day.
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WHEREAS, Despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, women continue to suffer the consequences of inequitable pay differentials; and
WHEREAS, Wage discrimination laws are not often enforced and cases are extremely difficult to prove and win; and
WHEREAS, Although women's earnings have been slowly catching up to men's over time, the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) tells us that this reduction in the wage gap is in part due to a fall in men's earnings rather than an increase in women's earnings; and
WHEREAS, Despite the fact that women make up almost half of the American workforce, women on average still earn only 77% of men's earnings; African American women earn 71.7% of men's average earnings; Latinas, 58.5%; Asian American women, 87.2%; and
WHEREAS, Even when experience, education and time in the workforce are factored in, a significant percentage of this differential can only be attributed to discrimination; and
WHEREAS, According to U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, women earn less than men in every occupational classification for which data is available, including occupations dominated by women; and
WHEREAS, Over a working lifetime, this wage disparity costs the average American woman and her family an estimated $523,000 in lost wages, impacting Social Security benefits and pensions for the family, and the American economy overall; and
WHEREAS, A vast majority of households depend on wages of a working mother and working families are often just one paycheck away from hardship; and
WHEREAS, Fair equity policies can be implemented simply and without undue costs in both the public and private sectors; and
WHEREAS, Two bills before the U.S. Congress seek to address these concerns. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen enforcement of equal pay laws, and The Fair Pay Act would require employers to provide equal pay for work of...
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