Political Quotes

“Today women make up nearly half of our workforce. Sixty-four percent of mothers in the United States work outside the home. Many are the sole family wage earner. Their wages pay for rent, for groceries, for childcare, for healthcare. But even though it is 2019, too often, equal pay for equal work is not a reality. On average, White women earn 80 cents on the dollar compared with White men in substantially equal jobs. The wage gap is even more pronounced for women of color in nearly every line of work, regardless of education, experience, occupation, industry, or job title. This has severe and long-term consequences for the lives of working women, families, and for our economy. With the Equal Pay Act, title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and more recently, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, we have made some progress in reducing inequities for women in the workplace. But, unfortunately, loopholes and insufficient enforcement tools have allowed wage discrimination to persist. For example, a lack of easily accessible data on hiring and wages has made it difficult to detect, let alone prevent, wage discrimination. And even when wage discrimination is discovered, working women face significant barriers to fulfilling the heavy burden of proof for holding discriminating employers accountable. Last month, I was honored to chair the hearing on persistent, gender- based wage discrimination.…”