WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, issued the following statement on Tuesday recognizing Equal Pay Day — the day that marks how far into the calendar year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. With the Senate set to consider the Paycheck Fairness Act on Wednesday, the President today announced two new executive actions implementing portions of the bill for federal contractors.
“In 2014, in a nation where women surpass men in earning college degrees, it’s simply unacceptable that we are still fighting over the right to equal pay. Women make up nearly half of our nation’s workforce, and an increasing proportion are their family’s primary breadwinners. Yet in Delaware, women working full time still make just 80 cents on the dollar compared to men — a loss of nearly $10,000 a year, and nearly half a million dollars over a lifetime. The gap is even more severe for women of color, and these compounding losses leave women less equipped to provide for their families and less prepared for retirement at the end of their careers.
“Just over 50 years ago, the Equal Pay Act took important steps to address this injustice, but loopholes in the law have allowed wage discrimination to persist. The executive actions taken by the President today will help to further strengthen the law, but Congress can and must do its part by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. This bill will give women the tools to fight for the compensation they deserve and help to close the shameful pay gap once and for all. I hope my colleagues in the Senate will join me in voting this week to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and end wage discrimination in our society.”
Senator Coons is an original cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would deter wage discrimination by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and barring retaliation against workers who disclose their wages to colleagues.
Created in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity, Equal Pay Day serves to illustrate and raise awareness about the persistent gap between men's and women's wages.