[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 2, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H2975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             EQUAL PAY DAY

  (Ms. STEVENS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to recognize Katherine 
Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and the 
hundreds of women in STEM who made incredible contributions to our 
country and to the cause of scientific research and exploration.
  Katherine and her team of mathematicians and engineers were pivotal 
to one of our Nation's greatest triumphs: landing the first man on the 
Moon. Yet, as Black women in America, they faced pervasive 
discrimination. They were subjected to segregated facilities and their 
careers were stifled by an explicit and implicit culture of racism and 
misogyny.
  I will also note that today is Equal Pay Day and that the gender pay 
gap is even more stark for women of color. It takes a Black woman 7 
months longer to earn what a man takes home in 1 year, which is why I 
have been a strong supporter of the Paycheck Fairness Act.
  I will further note that we were supposed to send the first all-woman 
space walk on March 29 up into outer space, but we had to cancel that 
trip because of lack of proper suits for women. We must do better.
  Katherine Johnson, Dr. Christine Darden, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary 
Jackson, and the hundreds of other women in STEM were never properly 
recognized for their brilliance and determination, which is why I, as a 
Member of Congress, am a cosponsor of the Hidden Figures Congressional 
Gold Medal Act.

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