Congresswoman Beatty Recognizes Equal Pay Day for Women
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Tuesday, April 9, as Equal Pay Day for women.
The Equal Pay Act, signed into law by President Kennedy in 1963, amended the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit sex-based wage discrimination between men and women who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility.
In 1963, women were earning an average of 59 cents on the dollar compared to men. I rise because today on average women earn 77 cents for every dollar a man earns.
In 2013, a study by the United States Census Bureau in Columbus, Ohio, demonstrated that women are paid 81 cents for every dollar paid to men. This amounts to a yearly gap of some $9,261 between men and women who work full time.
Equal work? It's simple. It deserves equal pay.
I'm proud that the first piece of legislation that President Obama signed into law during his first term was the Lilly Ledbetter Act. I rise for all the Lilly Ledbetters in hopes that one day the wage of workers in this country will be equal regardless of gender.