[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E682-E683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        EQUAL PAY DAY RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 9, 2000

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a resolution 
with Representative Constance Morella to recognize the significance of 
May 11th as Equal Pay Day. May 11, 2000, is the day when women's wages 
for the period beginning January 1, 1999, will equal the amount earned 
by a man during calendar year 1999. Equal Pay Day

[[Page E683]]

represents the 17 months that the average woman must work to earn the 
same amount the average man earns in just 12 months. It is calculated 
according to the U.S. Census Bureau data showing a 27% wage gap in 
1998.
  While women's participation in the labor market has increased 
dramatically over the last few decades, their pay has not. Women now 
comprise 46% of all workers, up from 33% in 1960. During this same 
period, federal legislation was enacted with the intent of mitigating 
labor market discrimination against women and others.
  This Equal Pay Act, mandated equal pay for men and women employed in 
the same or substantially same jobs in a company.
  The Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibited discrimination in employment 
and compensation against women and other protested classes of workers.
  Executive Order 11246 also forbade labor market discrimination and 
required affirmative action for protested classes of workers employed 
by federal contractors and subcontractors.
  Yes, these measures have given today's working women opportunities 
their mothers never had. Women now work in many different fields, each 
requiring different skills and experience and paying different wages. 
However, opening doors for working women has not closed the door on pay 
discrimination. Women continue to earn less than men for comparable 
work. U.S. Census data from 1998 shows that women earn only 73 cents 
for every dollar earned by men.
  Women get paid less because employers still discriminate in several 
ways.
  (1) Jobs usually held by women pay less than jobs traditionally held 
by men--even if they require the same education, skills and 
responsibilities.
  For example, stock and inventory clerks, who are mostly men, earn 
about $470 a week. General office clerks, on the other hand, are mostly 
women and they earn only $361 a week.
  (2) Women don't have equal job opportunities. A newly hired woman may 
get a lower-paying assignment than a man starting work at the same time 
for the same employer. That first job starts her career path and can 
lead to a lifetime of lower pay.
  (3) Women don't have an equal chance at promotions, training and 
apprenticeships. Because all these opportunities affect pay, women 
don't move up the earnings ladder as men do.
  Equal pay is a problem for all working women.
  Women lawyers--median weekly earnings are nearly $300 less than those 
of male attorneys--and women secretaries--who receive about $100 a week 
less than male clericals;
  Women doctors--median earnings are more than $500 less each week than 
men's earnings--and the 95 percent of nurses who are women but earn $30 
less each week than the 5 percent of nurses who are men;
  Women professors--median pay is $170 less each week than men's pay--
and women elementary school teachers--receive $70 less a week than men;
  Women food service supervisors--paid about $60 less each week than 
men in the same job--and waitresses--weekly earnings are $50 less than 
waiters' earnings. (AFL-CIO data)
  Every penny lost to wage inequity means fewer dollars available for 
women to spend on food, rent, health care, and education. So, unequal 
pay doesn't just affect women, it affects our entire economy. A working 
lifetime of diminished earnings costs the average working woman an 
estimated $250,000 in lost wages. Lower lifetime earnings translates 
into lower pension, retirement benefits and savings. As a result, women 
are more likely to enter retirement in poverty.
  By calling attention to these facts, our Equal Pay Day Resolution can 
heighten awareness and help create a climate in which pay 
discrimination can be eliminated and every person paid according to his 
or her worth. I am introducing this bill with 23 original cosponsors to 
demonstrate strong support in the U.S. House of Representatives for 
change across the country.

                          ____________________