[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 56 (Thursday, March 25, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1805]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             EQUAL PAY DAY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, our Nation is built on some fundamental 
ideas. One of those ideas is fairness.
  But there are millions of women across this country today who are 
doing the same job as their male colleagues and are being paid less.
  That is why on this National Equal Pay Day, I stand with my fellow 
Senators to close the pay equity gap and ensure equal pay for equal 
work.
  Fifty-eight years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act, women still 
only earn, on average, 82 cents for every dollar paid to men.
  This wage gap is even worse for women of color.
  African-American women who work full time make only 63 cents for 
every dollar paid to White males.
  Hispanic women make only 55 cents on the dollar.
  In nearly every industry in our country, women's median earnings 
remain less than their male counterparts.
  There has been one profound change since the passage of the Equal Pay 
Act 58 years ago. Forty-one percent of women are now the primary-or 
only-breadwinners for their families.
  In my own State of Illinois, women earn, on average, just 81 cents 
for every dollar earned by men.
  African-American women in Illinois make just 63 cents for every 
dollar paid to White males. Hispanic women are paid even less-just 49 
cents on the dollar.
  This pay discrimination hurts working families. More than one-third 
of households led by women in Illinois live in poverty.
  Over their lifetimes, this persistent pay equity gap will cost the 
average woman in my State nearly $500,000 in lost wages.
  This is not right, and it is not fair. And it means women have to 
work that much harder to support their families and retire in dignity, 
and too many can't achieve those goals no matter how long or hard they 
work.
  The coronavirus pandemic has underscored just how deep and damaging 
pay inequality is in the United States.
  Nearly 2 in 3 frontline workers are women. Yet they-nearly 
universally-are paid less than men in the same roles.
  For example, 88 percent of registered nurses are women. Yet they make 
93 cents for every dollar a male nurse makes.
  Women who work as home health aides, personal care aides, or nursing 
assistants typically lose $250 per month, or $3,000 per year, because 
of the gender wage gap.
  While our economy is slowing starting to recover as people become 
vaccinated and the virus is brought under control, economists warn that 
it may take years for women to recover from the economic and career 
setbacks they have suffered during this pandemic.
  Four times as many women as men left the workforce in September of 
2020 alone. More than 860,000 women compared to 216,000 men.
  From wage discrimination to the unavailability of childcare, women 
are not getting a fair deal. That means working families are not 
getting a fair deal. That must change.
  This Senate should pass the Paycheck Fairness Act reintroduced by 
Senator Murray.
  The Paycheck Fairness Act would build on the successes of the Lilly 
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was the first bill signed into law by 
President Obama back in 2009.
  The Lily Ledbetter Act prohibits gender-based pay discrimination, but 
it is hard to enforce because many employers still maintain policies 
that punish employees who voluntarily share salary information with 
their coworkers.
  Workers can't demand equal pay if they don't know that they are being 
underpaid.
  The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes that still permit 
retaliation against workers who disclose their wages.
  It would prohibit employers from asking prospective employees about 
their salary history.
  It would require that employers prove that pay disparities exist for 
legitimate, job-related reasons, not simply because they think that 
``women's work'' is worth less.
  I am disappointed that Republican opposition has prevented the Senate 
from passing this bill, which is vital to the economic security of 
millions of American women and their families. But we are not giving 
up.
  Women have carried America's families and our economy through this 
pandemic. As the pandemic begins to end, so should the persistent pay 
discrimination against women.
  I urge my colleagues across the aisle to commit to passing the 
Paycheck Fairness Act and working with us to close this gender wage gap 
once and for all.

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