Patrick Leahy: “Tomorrow, April 3, 1998, is Equal Pay Day. This is the day by which women will have had to work all of 1997 and the…”

“Tomorrow, April 3, 1998, is Equal Pay Day. This is the day by which women will have had to work all of 1997 and the first three months of 1998 to make what a man made in 1997 alone. We are not talking about jobs requiring different skills or abilities. We are talking about equal pay for equal work. This is not a glass ceiling, this is a glass wall. Women cannot break the glass ceiling until the wall comes down and they are given the equal pay that they deserve. Early in the next century, women--for the first time ever--will outnumber men in the United States workplace. In 1965, women held 35 percent of all jobs. That has grown to more than 45 percent today. And in a few years, women will make up a majority of the workforce. Fortunately, there are more business and career opportunities for women today than there were thirty years ago. Unlike 1965, federal, state, and private sector programs now offer women many opportunities to choose their own futures. Working women also have opportunities to gain the knowledge and skills to achieve their own economic security. But despite these gains, working women still face a unique challenge--achieving pay equity. The average woman earns 74 cents for every dollar that the average man earns. According to a study by the National Academy of Sciences, one-half of the pay gap is due to discrimination. This is unacceptable. This discrimination is evident even in traditionally female professions such as nursing.”