[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 51 (Tuesday, April 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4150-S4151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             EQUAL PAY DAY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today, April 20th, is being observed as 
Equal Pay Day.
  I wish I could say it is a celebration of Equal Pay for women. But it 
isn't.
  Instead, this day symbolizes the fact that women continue to earn 
only 77 percent as much as men, 77 cents on the dollar.
  Today, April 20, marks how many extra days a woman has to work to 
earn as much money as a man earned last year.
  Women are paid less than men even when they have the same experience, 
the same education, the same skills, and live in the same parts of the 
country.
  And they are paid less for doing the same jobs.
  For example, women lawyers and women doctors both have median weekly 
earnings that are nearly $500 less than those of male lawyers and 
doctors.
  Women food service supervisors are paid about $100 less each week 
than men in the same job, and waitresses earn about $50 less than 
waiters.
  Women professors' weekly earnings are nearly $300 less each week than 
men's, and the median weekly salary for women elementary school 
teachers is $70 per week less than that of male elementary school 
teachers.
  When women are short-changed in their paychecks, it doesn't just hurt 
them. It hurts their whole family, including their children and 
spouses.
  Lower pay for women means a family can't afford as nice of a home, or 
give their children the same opportunities, as they could if women were 
paid as much as men.
  If married women were paid the same as comparable men, their family 
incomes would rise by nearly 6 percent. And the poverty rate among 
families of working women would decline from 2.1 percent to 0.8 
percent.
  On average, every working family loses $4,000 every year because of 
unequal pay for women.
  If single working mothers earned as much as comparable men, their 
family incomes would increase by nearly 17 percent, and their poverty 
rates would be cut in half, from 25.3 percent to 12.6 percent.
  If single women earned as much as comparable men, their incomes would 
rise by 13.4 percent and their poverty rate would fall from 6.3 percent 
to 1 percent.
  Women lose 23 cents on the dollar compared to men--almost a quarter.
  Over a lifetime of work, that 23 cents adds up fast. It adds up to 
real money.
  For an average 25-year old working woman, it adds up to about 
$523,000 during her working life. That's more than a half-million 
dollars less than a man will be paid.
  Because women are paid less when they work, they can't save as much 
toward their retirement. Half of all older women who received a private 
pension in 1998 got less than $3,486 per year, compared with $7,020 per 
year for older men. In other words, the pensions for women were less 
than half of the pensions for men.
  The figures are even worse for women of color. African-American women 
earn only 67 cents and Latinas 55 cents for every dollar that men earn. 
Asian Pacific American women still earn only 83.5 cents on the dollar 
compared to men's salaries.

[[Page S4151]]

  These statistics remind us that we still have a long way to go, even 
though we have been fighting for decades to win equal pay for women.
  When President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, it became 
illegal for companies to pay women less than men who were doing exactly 
the same work.
  Unfortunately, other forms of discrimination have continued, 
including relatively low wages for jobs that have traditionally been 
considered ``women's work,'' like teaching, nursing and child care.
  Some recent legal settlements provide insight into the kind of 
discrimination that women still face in the workplace: In 1997, Home 
Depot and Publix Supermarkets each agreed to pay more than $80 million 
to settle major lawsuits charging them with sex discrimination against 
thousands of working women. The lawsuits alleged that, among other 
things, the companies had assigned women to lower-paying jobs, refused 
to give them raises, and denied them promotions. In 1999, Texaco agreed 
to pay $3.1 million in a ``glass ceiling'' settlement to women who 
alleged they were consistently paid less than their male counterparts 
in similar positions. In 2000, Ford Motor Co. agreed to pay $3.8 
million to women and minority applicants who claimed they were denied 
jobs as entry-level assemblers. In 2002, American Express Financial 
Advisors Inc. agreed to pay $31 million to settle a sex discrimination 
case alleging that female professionals were paid less and unfairly 
denied promotions.
  Everyone agrees that women deserve equal pay. But we still haven't 
reached that goal.
  That's why we must vigorously enforce the equal pay laws that are 
already on the books. Pass stronger and better equal pay laws, such as 
the Paycheck Fairness Act, which I am proud to co-sponsor. And protect 
the rights of workers to organize and bargain with employers.
  It is simply not fair that a young woman beginning a career in the 
workplace today will earn a half-million dollars less than a man.
  It isn't fair that pensions for women are half as much as pensions 
for men.
  And it isn't fair that the families of working women are penalized in 
every paycheck.
  Let's pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, and let's work to finally 
ensure that women who work get paid as much as men.

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