[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 42 (Thursday, April 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SENATE RESOLUTION 70--REGARDING EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK

       Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Reid, 
     Mr. Harkin, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Durbin, Ms. 
     Moseley-Braun, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Kerry) submitted the 
     following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
     Labor and Human Resources.

                               S. Res. 70

       Whereas, in recent years, the participation of women in the 
     workforce has increased dramatically, with women now making 
     up almost half of the workforce;
       Whereas families in which both parents must work are the 
     norm;
       Whereas in 1995, 72 percent of all 2-parent families with 
     children, or 18,000,000 such families, were supported by a 
     working mother and father;
       Whereas many families depend on the pay of working women;
       Whereas some families depend wholly on women's pay, with 22 
     percent of all families with children, or 7,600,000 such 
     families, being headed by single mothers;
       Whereas the inability to earn adequate pay is a burden for 
     an entire family and sometimes forces women onto public 
     assistance to provide for their families;
       Whereas unfair pay disparities lead to inadequate savings 
     for retirement and lower pensions for women;
       Whereas on average, during the period between 1995 and 
     1981, a woman earned only 60 cents for each dollar earned by 
     a man;
       Whereas on average a woman earned 63.9 cents for each 
     dollar earned by a man in 1955, a figure that improved only 
     to 71.4 cents for each such dollar in 1997, with a woman of 
     color earning even less;
       Whereas this improvement equals an average annual increase 
     of only 0.28 percent from 1955 to 1997;
       Whereas much of this improvement has resulted from a 
     decline in men's real pay and, if men's real pay had not 
     declined, there would have been a much smaller increase in 
     women's pay relative to men's pay;
       Whereas working women have benefited the United States 
     economy enormously;
       Whereas the provision of equal pay helps business by 
     improving productivity and reducing employee turnover;
       Whereas the pay disparities cost the economy 
     $130,000,000,000 in lost purchasing power per year;
       Whereas ensuring equal pay is a high priority for working 
     women and their families;
       Whereas it took a woman, on average, from January 1, 1996, 
     to April 11, 1997, to receive as much pay as a man received 
     in 1996 alone; and
       Whereas April 11 is being recognized as National Pay 
     Inequity Awareness Day: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) women have made great contributions to the United 
     States workforce and the United States economy and should be 
     paid fairly and have the same access to education and 
     training as men;
       (2) all employers, in the public and private sectors, 
     should comply with Federal and State law requiring equal pay 
     for equal work;
       (3) many employers have made serious efforts to provide 
     equal pay and should be commended for those efforts; and
       (4) all employers should address unequal pay in their 
     workplaces and ensure that working families can prosper.

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, this Friday, April 11, is National Pay 
Inequity Awareness Day, the day on which an average woman's salary, 
when combined with her salary from last year, will equal the salary 
earned by an average man in 1996 alone. It is a day that challenges us 
to meet our goal of providing equal pay for equal work. Today I want to 
take another step toward this goal by introducing Senate Resolution 70, 
a resolution recognizing the important role that women play in the work 
force and in supporting their families and how far we have yet to go 
before they will be fairly paid for their efforts.
  This is an issue of fairness and of families. In 1995, 72 percent of 
all two-parent families with children--18 million in total--were 
supported by a working father and a working mother. An additional 7.6 
million families were dependent entirely on the income of a working 
mother. The burden of unfair pay falls directly on these families, and 
makes an immediate difference in their lives. For example, an average 
female secretary makes $2,000 less than a male secretary. Think of the 
difference that $2,000 can make in the life of a family--it can pay for 
bags of groceries, checkups for the children, or rent. Unfair pay is 
more than a slogan, it means less security for families struggling to 
meet the needs of their everyday lives.
  There is no dispute about the facts. On average, women earn 71 cents 
for every dollar earned by a man. And even professional women earn less 
than men, even when women have the same duties, experience, and 
educational level. On average, female lawyers earn $11,000 less than 
male lawyers. Female computer programmers earn $4,000 less than their 
male counterparts. The discrepancies are equally great for women who 
work for hourly wages. Over her lifetime, the average woman will earn 
$420,000 less than a man. This leaves retired women with smaller 
pensions and leads to a high rate of poverty among elderly women.
  Mr. President, I look forward to the time when we no longer need to 
recognize National Pay Inequity Awareness Day. It is my hope that as 
women's wages increase, this day will fall earlier and earlier in the 
year, and that, someday soon, when women are finally paid what they 
deserve, we won't need to commemorate this day at all. One important 
step toward that goal would be the enactment of S. 71, the Paycheck 
Fairness Act. It would provide important new tools to remedy this 
problem of unfair wages, and I urge my colleagues to give it their full 
support.
  I also urge my colleagues to show their support for the principle of 
fair pay by joining me in support of this resolution recognizing 
National Pay Inequity Awareness Day. It calls for all women to be paid 
fairly, for women to have the same access to education and training as 
men, for all employers to comply with State and Federal laws requiring 
equal pay for equal work, and it commends employers who have made 
progress in this important area. It is a small but important way to 
demonstrate our support for working women, and to participate in the 
activities taking place in more than 30 States around the Nation to 
highlight the wage gap. Raising women's salaries presents us with 
formidable challenges, but, together, I am convinced that we will be 
successful.

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