New Data Projects Connecticut Will Not Close Gender-Based Wage Gap Until 2061

NEW HAVEN, CT—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) released the following statement today on the heels of a report showing that, at its current pace, Connecticut will not close the wage gap until 2061. Yesterday the General Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee passed legislation supported by DeLauro banning pay secrecy.

"The single biggest economic issue facing Connecticut families today is that jobs do not pay enough to live on. Closing the wage gap would immediately put money into the pockets of families across our state. Women's' paychecks are not a luxury, they are a crucial part of how families pay for clothes, gas, food, housing and other necessities.

"Unfortunately new data demonstrates just how far away we are from closing the gap. Connecticut took a step in the right direction yesterday, when legislation banning pay secrecy advanced. The full General Assembly needs to pass this bill and Congress needs to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would put an end to pay secrecy nationwide. Six years after the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law and more than 50 years after the signing of the Equal Pay Act, we need to finish the job."

DeLauro is the author of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which she has introduced in every congress since 1997. President Obama has banned retaliation among federal contractors, a step DeLauro urged him to take.

###