[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 108 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 108
Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages
paid to men and to Black women.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 22, 2022
Ms. Adams (for herself, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Wilson of Florida,
Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mrs. Watson
Coleman, Ms. Meng, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. McCollum, and Mr. Evans)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages
paid to men and to Black women.
Whereas September 21, 2022, is Black Women's Equal Pay Day, which marks the day
that symbolizes how long into 2022 Black women must work to make what
White, non-Hispanic men were paid in 2021;
Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d))
prohibits discrimination in compensation for equal work on the basis of
sex;
Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.)
prohibits discrimination in compensation because of race, color,
religion, national origin, or sex;
Whereas despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 206 note) 5
decades ago, which requires that men and women in the same workplace be
given equal pay for equal work, Census Bureau data show that Black women
working full time, year round, are paid 58 cents for every dollar paid
to White, non-Hispanic men;
Whereas if the current trends continue, on average, Black women will have to
wait 100 years to achieve equal pay;
Whereas the median annual pay for a Black woman in the United States working
full time, year round, is $41,098, which means that, on average, Black
women lose nearly $964,400 in potential earnings to the wage gap over
the course of a 40-year career;
Whereas lost wages mean Black women have less money to support themselves and
their families, save and invest for the future, and spend on goods and
services, causing businesses and the economy to suffer as a result;
Whereas Black women's median earnings are less than men's at every level of
academic achievement;
Whereas, in the United States, more than 80 percent of Black mothers are key
breadwinners or co-breadwinners for their families, but Black mothers
working full time are paid only 52 percent as much as fathers;
Whereas the lack of access to affordable, quality childcare, paid family and
medical leave, paid sick leave, and other family-friendly workplace
policies contributes to the wage gap by forcing many Black women to
choose between their paycheck or job and getting quality care for
themselves or their family members;
Whereas if the wage gap were eliminated, on average, a Black woman working full
time would have enough money for approximately 2.5 additional years of
tuition and fees for a 4-year public university, the full cost of
tuition and fees for a 2-year community college, more than 16 additional
months of premiums for employer-based health insurance, 153 weeks of
food for her family, 15 additional months of mortgage and utilities
payments, 22 more months of rent, nearly 20 additional years of birth
control, or enough money to pay off student loan debt in just over 1
year;
Whereas 25 to 85 percent of women have been sexually harassed at the workplace,
and research has found that only a small number of women who experience
harassment, about 1 in 10, formally report incidents for reasons
including lack of access to the complaints processes and fear of
retaliation;
Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave their occupation or
industry;
Whereas targets of harassment were 6.5 times as likely as nontargets to change
jobs or pass up opportunities for advancement, contributing to the
gender wage gap;
Whereas Black women were the most likely of all racial and ethnic groups to have
filed a sexual harassment charge;
Whereas nearly two-thirds of workers paid the minimum wage or less are women,
and there is an overrepresentation of women of color in low-wage and
tipped occupations;
Whereas more than 62 percent of women working in the private sector reported
that they were either discouraged or prohibited from discussing wage and
salary information, which can hide pay discrimination and prevent
remedies;
Whereas the pay disparity Black women face is part of a wider set of disparities
Black women face in home ownership, unemployment, poverty, access to
childcare, and the ability to accumulate wealth;
Whereas the gender wage gap for Black women has only narrowed by 3 cents in the
last 3 decades;
Whereas true pay equity requires a multifaceted strategy that addresses the
gendered and racial injustices that Black women face daily;
Whereas the pandemic has disproportionately economically impacted Black women;
and
Whereas many national organizations have designated September 21, 2022, as Black
Women's Equal Pay Day to represent the additional time that women must
work to compensate for the lower wages paid to Black women last year:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Black women
and its impact on women, families, and the United States; and
(2) reaffirms its support for ensuring equal pay for equal
work and narrowing the gender wage gap.
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