Connie Morella: “I spoke earlier on equal pay day, May 11, which is today, which indicates that women have had to work 4 months longer…”

“I spoke earlier on equal pay day, May 11, which is today, which indicates that women have had to work 4 months longer than men to achieve equal pay. I wanted to comment a little further on that with some statistics, and then I want to go into an invitation to women as well as men to join all of us on Sunday, Mother's Day at the Million Mom March for common-sense gun legislation. But, first of all, let me mention, women have made great strides in education and in the work force. When one looks at the statistics, the majority of undergraduate and master's degrees are awarded to women. Forty percent of all doctorates are earned by women. More than 7.7 million businesses in the United States are owned and operated by women. These businesses employ 15.5 million people, which is about 35 percent more than the Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Women are running for elected office in record numbers. When I was first elected to the House in 1987, there were 26 women in the House and two in the Senate. In 2000, we now have 58 women serving in the House and nine in the Senate. It sounds like quite an addition. Not enough. Not enough, but certainly we can see there has been an increase. While many doors to employment and educational opportunity have opened for women, they still get paid less than men for the same work.”