119 SCON 16 IS: Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid to men and to Black women.
U.S. Senate
2025-07-10
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III
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 16
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 10, 2025
Ms. Blunt Rochester (for herself, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Booker, Ms. Warren, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Markey, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Coons, Mr. Heinrich, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Ossoff, Ms. Smith, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Welch, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Luján, and Ms. Rosen) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid to men and to Black women.
Whereas July 10, 2025, is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, a day of observance of the wage gap between working Black women and working White, non-Hispanic men;
Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)) (commonly known as the “Equal Pay Act of 1963”) 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 6 decades ago, which requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work, data from the Bureau of the Census show that Black women working full time and year round are paid 66 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men;
Whereas, when part-time and part-year workers are included in the comparison, Black women are paid 64 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men;
Whereas, if the current trends continue, on average, Black women will have to wait over 200 years to achieve equal pay;
Whereas the median annual pay for a Black woman in the United States working full time, year round, is $50,390, which means that, if the current wage gap were to continue, the average Black woman would lose nearly $1,019,200 in potential earnings because of 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, to save and invest for the future, and to spend on goods and services, causing businesses and the economy to suffer as a result;
Whereas the median earnings of Black women are less than the median earnings of men at every level of academic achievement, and in leadership and professional positions;
Whereas Black women with bachelor’s and master’s degrees experience a larger wage gap in comparison to White, non-Hispanic men than Black women with a high school diploma;
Whereas, in the United States, more than 69 percent of Black mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners for their families, compared to slightly more than one-third of one percent of non-Hispanic white mothers;
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 over 2 additional years of tuition and fees for a 4-year public university, the full cost of tuition and fees for a public 2-year community college, more than 49 additional months of premiums for employer-based family health insurance coverage with employer contributions, over 58 weeks of food for a family of 4, more than 13 additional months of home ownership costs, including mortgage payments, real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, and fuel costs, 17 more months of rental costs, including rent payments, utilities, and fuel, almost a full year of child care for 2 children, or enough money to pay off an average borrower’s Federal student loan debt in under 2 years;
Whereas Black women face dual and compounding discrimination based upon both their race and gender;
Whereas at least 38 percent of women have been sexually harassed at the workplace and over 78 percent of sexual harassment charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are filed by women, yet the prevalence of sexual harassment is likely much higher, as research has found that only a small number of women who experience harassment formally report incidents for reasons including fear of retaliation;
Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave their occupation or industry;
Whereas individuals who are targets of harassment are 6.5 times as likely as individuals who are not targets of harassment to change jobs or pass up opportunities for advancement, contributing to the gender wage gap;
Whereas Black women are 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 over-representation of women of color in low-wage and tipped occupations;
Whereas 60 percent of private sector workers reported that they were either discouraged or prohibited by their employers from discussing wage and salary information, which can hide pay discrimination and prevent remedies;
Whereas the pay disparity faced by Black women is part of a wider set of disparities faced by Black women in home ownership, unemployment, poverty, access to childcare, and the ability to accumulate wealth;
Whereas the gender wage gap for Black women has narrowed by only 5 cents in the last 2 decades;
Whereas true pay equity requires a multifaceted strategy that addresses the gendered and racial injustices that Black women face daily; and
Whereas many national organizations have designated July 10, 2025, as Black Women’s Equal Pay Day to recognize the persistent and detrimental wage gap Black women face: Now, therefore, be it
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.