On the recordApril 9, 2013
Today is Equal Pay Day, and June will mark the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act. Despite these markers of recognition and achievement, discrimination through the form of a staggering wage gap still exists. In San Diego, a woman is paid 84 cents for every dollar a man is paid for the same job with the same experience. That means, together, San Diego women earn nearly $3.2 billion less each year than their male counterparts for performing the same work. For a woman working in San Diego, the wage gap represents 60 weeks of food, 4 weeks of mortgage and utility payments, 7 months of rent, or 2,035 gallons of gasoline. To me, it's remarkable that this is still an issue, so in my first month in Congress I cosponsored Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro's Paycheck Fairness Act. It addresses the continuing discrepancy in pay and strengthens the Equal Pay Act by providing for greater enforcement of and remedies to gender discrimination in the payment of wages. For my daughter and her daughters, for the women of San Diego, and for women across the Nation, I encourage every Member in this body to stand up for women and help pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. ____________________
