Press Releases
Congresswoman Lori Trahan Votes for Landmark Legislation to Close Gender Wage Gap
Washington,
April 15, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) cast her vote to pass the landmark Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that will finally ensure equal pay for equal work by closing the gender wage gap and empowering women in the workplace. “Equal pay is not an issue that only hurts women. It hurts families and it hurts our economy. When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families – child care, rent, groceries, and doctors’ visits,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “This long overdue legislation modernizes and strengthens the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which has been woefully ineffective in ensuring equal pay. Women have been working overtime for a fraction of the pay that men make. It’s long past time for paycheck fairness.” Fifty-eight years after the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was enacted, full-time working women still earn only 82 cents, on average, for every dollar their male counterparts earn, amounting to a yearly gender gap of $10,157 between full-time working men and women. Furthermore, the wage gap is even larger for women of color – with, on average, Black women earning just 63 cents, Native American women just 60 cents, and Hispanic women just 55 cents for every collar a white, non-Hispanic man earns. The Paycheck Fairness Act would:
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