Murray Statement on Equal Pay Day: Gender Pay Gap is Wrong, Harmful, and It’s Got to Change

On Equal Pay Day, Senator Murray highlights the need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act

Wage gap is higher for women of color: African American women make 63 cents, Latinas make 54 cents for every dollar their white, male colleagues make

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released the following statement on Equal Pay Day, the date when women’s wages finally catch up to what men were paid in the previous year. Murray also called for the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen and close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by holding employers accountable for discriminatory practices, ending the practice of pay secrecy, easing workers’ ability to individually or jointly challenge pay discrimination, and strengthening the available remedies for wronged employees.

“There is absolutely no excuse that women are still being paid less than men for the same work—it’s wrong, it’s harmful, and it’s got to change,” said Senator Murray. “More and more families rely on women’s wages to buy groceries, pay the bills, and pay for childcare—and let’s be clear that the pay gap is even worse for mothers and women of color. It’s time for Congress to act, and to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act—it’s not only the right thing to do for women, but for working families and the economy.”

Despite making up half the workforce, more than five decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women in the United States still make only 80 cents, on average, for every dollar earned by a man. The gap is even wider for women of color, with African American women making 63 cents on the dollar, and Hispanic women making only 54 cents, on average, compared with white men.

Text of the Paycheck Fairness Act can be found HERE.

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