Rep. DeLauro, Lt. Gov. Wyman, Advocates Call for Action on Equal Pay

April 12 is national Equal Pay Day

New Haven, CT— Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) was joined by Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Teresa Younger, Executive Director of the CT Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, and representatives from women’s organizations from across Connecticut today as they issued a call for action on pay equity.

Tomorrow is Equal Pay Day, the date that symbolizes how far into 2011 women must work to earn what men earned in 2010. Despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act 48 years ago, women in the United States still make just 77 cents on the dollar as compared to their male counterparts.

Congresswoman DeLauro has introduced legislation, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen and close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act to help ensure that workplace inequity ends. This bill was the first law passed by the House of Representatives in the 111th Congress, but was not passed by the Senate and therefore not signed into law. Congresswoman DeLauro plans to reintroduce this legislation soon.

“In America today, women make up half of the workforce, and two-thirds of women are either the sole bread-winner or co-breadwinner in their family. And yet, right now in the 21st century, women make only 77 cents on the dollar as compared to men. The Equal Pay Act was supposed to end these wage inequalities, but it is clear that that has not happened,” said Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro. “Let us finally ensure that America's women, who make up half our nation's workforce, are treated as fairly and equitably as the other half. Let's give real teeth to the Equal Pay Act at last, and do what we can to make this one of the last “Equal Pay Days” in our history.”

“This issue is not only about women earning less than men in the same job. Women need to keep fighting for equal pay not only to support our families today, but so we can retire on the same footing as men. About half of all women are in jobs that do not offer retirement plans, which is a major reason why women make up the majority of older adults living in poverty,” said Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman. “A lifetime of earning less pay means a retirement with less security for a woman and her family. That is not only an economic disadvantage, but is fundamentally unfair.”

“Despite incremental progress over the years, women across all economic strata are still being paid less than their male peers,” said PCSW Executive Director Teresa C. Younger. “This gender discrimination simply has to end, especially as women emerge as an even more vital segment of the workforce. Increasingly, women are becoming the primary breadwinners in many families, and so in addition to devaluing women, the wage gap deprives whole families of their economic security.”