[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6058]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             EQUAL PAY DAY

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, today, is Equal Pay Day, which means that 
115 days into 2006, an average American woman will finally have earned 
enough in 2005 and 2006 together to equal what a man doing similar work 
earned by the end of 2005. Equal Pay Day is a sad reminder that gender 
discrimination is still very much a part of our country.
  In America today, women earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by 
men. The wage gap exists in every segment of our society. Women of 
every race and national origin earn less than their male counterparts. 
African-American women earn just 68 percent of the average earnings of 
African-American men. Latinas earn only 57 percent of the average 
Latino male wage. Asian-American women earn 88 cents for every dollar 
earned by Asian-American men.
  This is not a problem just for poor women or rich women; it cuts 
across all occupations. There are even wage gaps in the operating room. 
The average male physician or surgeon makes $52,000 more a year than 
the average female physician. In the boardroom, the average male CEO 
makes $35,000 more a year than his female counterpart.
  There are wage gaps in the classroom. The average male teaching 
assistant earns $5,000 more a year than the average female. In the 
dining room, the average male cook makes $2,000 more than his female 
counterpart.
  The problem is not getting better. This year's wage gap of 23 cents 
is the same gap that existed in 2002. Since 1963, when the Equal Pay 
Act was passed, the wage gap has narrowed by less than half of a penny 
a year.
  The wage gap is caused in part by how society deals with the 
realities of working women's lives, such as time out from the workforce 
to have children and care for family members. Among working women, 
nearly two-thirds do not receive paid maternity leave when they give 
birth; a quarter have to quit their jobs to care for their children, 
and doing so permanently lowers their future earning potential. It is 
wrong to dismiss the pay gap as a consequence of women's choosing to 
take time out of the workforce. Women do not willingly choose to forego 
fair pay in order to have children and care for elderly parents, nor 
should they.
  More important, we cannot blame the pay gap exclusively on women's 
predominant role in childcare. The evidence shows that actual gender 
discrimination also accounts for the disparity between men and women's 
pay. In 2004, the Census Bureau concluded that the substantial gap in 
earnings between men and women could not completely be explained by 
differences in education, tenure in the workforce, or occupation. 
Similarly, a recent General Accounting Office report concluded that the 
difference in men and women's working patterns does not explain the 
entire disparity in their wages. Discrimination plays a role as well, 
and we need to combat it with Federal legislation to close the gap. 
Congress needs to act.
  I strongly support Senator Clinton's Paycheck Fairness Act and 
Senator Harkin's Fair Pay Act to prevent and remedy gender pay 
discrimination. It is appalling and unacceptable that such 
discrimination still exists in America. The issue is simple fairness. I 
urge my colleagues to stand up for working women and end wage 
discrimination by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay 
Act.

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