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Why we need the
Paycheck Fairness Act
Census data shows that the gap between men’s and women’s earning widened between 2007 and 2008 (annual wage data is not yet available for 2009) from 77.8 percent to 77.1 percent. Women who work full-time still earn, on average, 77 cents for every dollar men earn for performing the same work. Based on median earnings of full-time year round workers, women’s earnings were $35,745 and men’s earnings were $46,367. Median earnings for most women of color are even lower. In 2008 the earning for African American women were $31,489, 67.9 percent of men’s earnings (a drop from 68.7 percent in 2007) and Latinas’ earnings were $26,846, 58 percent of men’s earnings (a drop from 59 percent in 2007). Asian American women’s earnings in 2008 were $42,215, 91 percent of men’s earnings, an increase from 89.5 percent in 2007.
The wage gap still exists, in part, because many women and people of color continue to be segregated into low-paying occupations. More than half of all women workers hold sales, clerical and service jobs. Studies show that the more an occupation is dominated by women or people of color, the less it pays.
Find more information on the wage gap:
Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act in 2009, which gives employees back their day in court to challenge a wage gap. However now we need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. |
 Senators: Pass the
Paycheck Fairness Act!
While the House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act in January 2009, the Senate has yet to vote on this important legislation.
TELL THE SENATE:
END PAY DISCRIMINATION NOW!
Download letter to Senators from
CLUW President Karen See
CLUW calls on the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182). Please write a letter to your Senators similar to the letter from CLUW President Karen See, call or email your senators. Find their direct phone numbers and emails by clicking here.
Today women earn only 77 cents on the dollar to their male counterparts. This pay gap translates into a $431,000 loss of earnings over a woman’s lifetime. Now women fear losing their jobs if they ask about their employers’ wage practices or talk about their own wages with coworkers. With women now making up almost half of the workforce and more and more families dependent upon a women’s paycheck for the survival of the family, ensuring that women are paid fairly is even more critical.
Let’s Turn Up the Heat to Pass Paycheck Fairness in September!
What is the Paycheck Fairness Act?
The Paycheck Fairness Act is comprehensive legislation that would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and bar retaliation against workers who disclose their wages. The bill strengthens the Equal Pay Act to ensure that effective protection is enacted against sex-based pay discrimination. Toward that end, it also allows women to receive the same remedies for sex-based pay discrimination that are currently available to those subject to discrimination based on race and national origin.
Check out CLUW's fact sheet on the Paycheck Fairness Act |
