Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Ninth District, IL
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Press Release
 
APRIL 16, 2002
 
SCHAKOWSKY, HOUSE DEMOCRATS DEMAND PAY EQUITY FOR WORKING WOMEN
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) today joined her Democratic colleagues in demanding that Congress pass stalled legislation to end the pay disparity between working men and women.  April 16, 2002 is Equal Pay Day.

 “We are a nation that has put a person on the moon and invented personal computers, yet we cannot make the simple guarantee that women will earn equal pay as men for equal work,” Schakowsky said.

Schakowsky called on Congress to pass HR 781, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would improve wages for women and families by:
 

  • Enhancing equal pay requirements for employers;
  • Closing employer loopholes under current equal pay law;
  • Increasing investment in enforcement of wage discrimination claims; and
  • Rewarding employers who make strides in eliminating pay disparities.


Women earn 72 cents for every dollar a man earns.  In communities of color, the gap is wider: African American women earn 67 cents for each dollar and Latinas earn only 54 cents for each dollar a man earns. Over a working lifetime, the wage disparity costs the average American woman an estimated $250,000 – that means it costs most American families $250,000.  For Black families the loss is $360,000 and for Latino families it’s $510,000.

 
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