Daniel Inouye: “above my desk in Washington is a copy of the labor contract that was signed by my grandfather, Asakichi Inouye, in July…”

“above my desk in Washington is a copy of the labor contract that was signed by my grandfather, Asakichi Inouye, in July 1899. In the agreement, my grandfather would be paid $15 a month to work at the McBryde Sugar Company on the Island of Kauai. My grandmother, Moyo, would be paid $10 a month. Women like my grandmother were an important part of the workforce for Hawaii's sugar plantations, but they were paid less for doing the same type of work as men and did not receive the same advancement opportunities. While our Nation has made great strides in promoting gender equity since 1899, there is still more to do. According to the Joint Economic Committee, women in Hawaii today earn 76 cents for every dollar paid to men. Over a 40-year career, a woman in Hawaii would earn $433,000 less than her male counterparts. Women represent 48 percent of my State's workforce and 41 percent of married women are their families' primary wage earner. Studies have shown that the gender wage gap affects women regardless of their educational level or occupational field. Eliminating the wage gap is not only a matter of fairness for equal pay for equal work; it is also one of economic security for middle-class families. In a challenging economy, men are more likely than women to lose their jobs. This means that families across the country increasingly have had to rely on a woman's paycheck to make ends meet.…”