[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 12, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1913-S1915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. Peters, Mrs. Murray, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, Ms. Cantwell, Mr.
Booker, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Merkley, and Ms. Mikulski):
S. 2784. A bill to ensure that Federal science agencies and
institutions of higher education receiving Federal research and
development funding are fully engaging the entire national talent pool,
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions.
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, today April 12, is Equal Pay Day. Equal
Pay Day means women have to work more than 4 months longer to catch up
to what, on average, men made in 2015. This significant pay disparity
has been going on for decades--generations--even though it is against
the law and
[[Page S1914]]
has been against the law since the passage of the Equal Pay Act in
1963.
The gender pay gap persists across all States and nearly all
occupations. As we seek to build a 21st-century workforce, more than 73
million working women are at a disadvantage because of pay inequity and
other barriers based on gender. While we have come a ways from the days
of overt pay discrimination--such as in the 1930s, when the Federal
Government, no less, required women to be paid 25 percent less than
their male counterparts--the pay gap persists.
It is bad enough that women with equal education and experience get
paid less, but it gets worse. A recent New York University study found
that when women begin to enter predominately male occupations, pay in
those fields decrease overall. For example, when women began to pursue
careers in design, wages dropped more than 30 percent. When they
entered careers in biology, wages dropped 18 percent. The study also
showed the converse. When men entered fields previously dominated by
women, such as computer programming, wages increased.
The bottom line is that these studies show that women's work is less
valued than men's work. This discrimination won't change because we
don't like it or because we hope it will. It will only begin to change
if we take action. That is why I joined Senator Mikulski in continuing
our call to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. This legislation would
allow women to compare their salaries without fearing retaliation. How
can a woman find out if there is pay discrimination going on in her
workplace if she can't even find out what others are being paid? The
bill would also require employers to prove that differences in pay for
men and women doing the same work are not related to gender.
While the gender pay gap affects all women, this morning I want to
focus on inequity in the fields of science, technology, engineering,
and math--also known as STEM. Nationally, we need to promote STEM to
remain competitive in the global economy. STEM careers are among the
highest paid positions and are some of the most sought after by
employers. In order to keep our country's historical leadership in STEM
over the next decade, economists say we need to create a million more
STEM careers than we are currently creating. We will lose our
competitive edge unless the number of women earning STEM degrees keeps
pace with their growing share of the population. But, of course, women
in the STEM fields earn less than men. For example, on average, women
engineers earn just 82 percent of what their male counterparts earn.
Female doctors' starting salaries are almost $20,000 less than their
male counterparts, even after accounting for factors such as specialty
and location.
In addition to facing lower wages, women in STEM must often overcome
institutional barriers, cultural stereotypes, and sexual harassment.
These barriers permeate every level of the STEM career pipeline. They
start as early as middle school and continue throughout one's career
and lead to women and minorities disproportionately giving up interest
in STEM careers.
At the University of Hawaii at Manoa, men earned more than five times
the number of computer science bachelor's degrees as women, and in the
College of Engineering, men earned three times as many bachelor's
degrees. These kinds of numbers in STEM education are not unique to
Hawaii. Even when women overcome the odds and pursue careers in STEM
fields, they continue to face gender biases that can affect the hiring,
promotion, and career advancement for women in STEM. For instance,
researchers found that women in STEM encountered bias judgments of
their competence and the ability to be hired. They also received less
faculty encouragement and financial rewards than identical male
counterparts when negotiating salary packages.
Studies show that when women in STEM decide to become mothers, they
are perceived as less competent and less committed to hard work and are
offered fewer jobs and lower salaries. In comparison, men are not
penalized for being fathers. If that wasn't enough, women in STEM often
experience workplace harassment.
Recently, in the New York Times, University of Hawaii geobiology
professor Hope Jahren shared an email that was sent to a former student
from a male colleague who works in the same lab as the student. This
email read in part this:
All I know is that from the first day I talked to you,
there hadn't been a single day or hour when you weren't on my
mind. That's just the way things are and you're gonna have to
deal with me until one of us leaves.
In the age of social media, these kinds of totally inappropriate
emails are all too common. According to Professor Jahren, this former
student feels that she cannot rely on human resources because she heard
stories from female colleagues about how sexual harassment happens
``all the time'' in their organization and that no action is taken.
These stories are all too common. Again, merely condemning this kind
of environment is not enough. Merely hoping that change will occur is
not enough. We can and must do more to even the playing field for women
in STEM, and that is why I am introducing the STEM Opportunities Act
today, so we can combat the systemic issues that can lead to women
losing interest in STEM and leaving STEM careers basically in droves.
The STEM Opportunities Act helps Federal science agencies and
institutions of higher education identify and share best practices to
overcome barriers that can affect the inclusion of women and other
underrepresented groups in STEM. The STEM Opportunities Act also allows
universities and nonprofits to receive competitive grants and
recognition for mentoring women and minorities in STEM fields.
Mentoring programs such as the Maui Economic Development Board's Women
in Technology Program and the Native Hawaiian Science and Engineering
Mentorship Program at the University of Hawaii have seen tremendous
success.
The Women in Technology Program supports those like Deanna Garcia,
who was first introduced to STEM through Women in Technology and is now
a mentor to girls who want to follow in her footsteps.
Deanna said:
Women in Technology gave me the skills, confidence, and
support I needed. Because of their networking and strong ties
within the community, I was not only able to find an
internship, but a career in IT. Because of the Women in
Technology program, I can also pay it forward to current
students and show them during career days or tours I am a
product of the program and hope to inspire them to pursue a
path in STEM just like I did.
Deanna's story is just one of many successes that programs like Women
in Technology have.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have the testimonials on
the success of existing STEM programs printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Senator Mazie K. Hirono--April 12, 2016
Extension of Remarks: Testimonials From Hawaii STEM Mentoring Programs
maui economic development board women in technology program
Deanna Garcia, TMDS-MSAT Analysis Team Manager, Akimeka LLC, A
Subsidiary of VSE Corporation
``Technology and Engineering are known to be male dominated
fields, however, the Women in Technology program empowered me
to succeed in an IT Career. I got my start almost fifteen
years ago because of the WIT program. They gave me the
skills, confidence, and support I needed and because of their
networking and strong ties within the community, I was not
only able to find an internship, then job, but a career in
IT. They also lead by example and have strong, driven,
impactful women leading the way. Because of the WIT program,
I can also pay it forward to current students and show them
during career days or tours I'm a product of the program and
hope to inspire them to pursue a path in STEM, just like I
did.''
Kawai Hall, Integrity Applications Incorporated
``Since there are fewer women with technology-related
degrees, it is harder for work industries to recruit women in
these fields. I think Women In Technology is an amazing
project to help bring awareness of STEM-related work
opportunities to girls and women, especially here in Hawaii
where it is prime. Our company is made of mostly men but I
haven't felt the effect of gender in my workplace. Everyone
works greatly as a team and helps each other advance in
learning. But it would be great to have more females added to
our workplace.''
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Audrey Cabrera, Brown & Caldwell
``After having my second child I've had a hard time finding
my balance and feeling like I am fulfilling my roles as
employee, mother, and wife. Although we have come so far in
terms of women in the professional workforce and specifically
STEM careers, the statistics remain that a large portion of
women migrate out of their STEM career in their 30's, when
they are growing their families. My company is great, with
fair pay and good benefits, but I feel that there are some
double standards/expectations that probably aren't specific
to my company, but in our society in general.''
Kimberly Vaituulala, Maui Electric Company (MECO) mentor for Introduce
a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED)
``Society has taught young girls to care for their baby
dolls or encouraged to play ``house'' with their Barbie
dolls. Meanwhile boys are building structures with Legos and
playing outside, messing around with their bikes to see what
they can do to make it go faster or make it look and sound
cooler as they ride by. This beginning transitions into
college where the number of boys dominate science and math
courses. For me, the significance of IGED is to show these
young ladies that engineering/technology IS cool and it's not
just for boys. IGED gives these ladies an opportunity to see
real people working in STEM careers, and broadens the horizon
for these up and coming females. Igniting a spark of interest
in just one of the 15 girls in the group makes this effort
completely worth it. . . .
``Women are physiologically and psychologically different
from men. In order to solve the engineering problems of this
world, the men cannot do it alone. It is vitally important
for women (of all ages) to be exposed to and consider a
career in engineering. The different perspective that women
can bring to forth might be the key to making cold fusion a
reality one day.
``In college I was one of three girls in my electrical
engineering classes. But I know more girls are getting
involved in STEM related fields and careers, and it can be
attributed to programs like IGED. Sometimes girls need that
extra push. Someone to tell them, ``Go! You can do it too!''
And as long as we can sustain STEM programs like IGED, this
trend for girls will continue on upward.''
Native Hawaiian Science & Engineering Mentorship Program (NHSEMP),
University of Hawaii at Manoa Kaiho'olulu Rickard, mentee
``[NHSEMP] helped me focus on my studies and set goals.
They got me started with a mentor who's been helping me out
with choosing good projects to work on . . . I was introduced
to [researcher] Lloyd French, and after that I really began
to get involved in projects like MMIC, or Monolithic
Microwave Integrated Circuit, and JPL, which is the NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory. . . .
``I've really gotten involved in what I'm doing here. My
freshman year, my grades weren't so good. I had about a 2.0
GPA then. So, after I joined the program, I was given my own
small office, and working with a mentor, basically helped me
pull my GPA up to a 3.0 in two semesters.''
Ms. HIRONO. I thank Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas. Her
legislation laid the groundwork for the STEM Opportunities Act. I also
wish to thank Senators Peters, Murray, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, Markey,
Cantwell, Booker, Schatz, and Merkley for supporting this effort.
Working together, I know we can do better, and I know we will ensure
that women who want to pursue STEM careers can do so in a supportive
environment without fear of harassment.
On Equal Pay Day, we are reminded of how far we have to go to achieve
equality, and I urge my colleagues to support the Paycheck Fairness
Act, the STEM Opportunities Act, and other legislation that will help
close the gender gap in our workforce.
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