WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) for a press conference to mark Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men did in 2023. Even 60 years since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, women still earn only 84 cents for every dollar a man makes—and the wage gap is even steeper for moms, women of color, and others. Today moms earn only 75 cents, Latinas earn only 57 cents, Black women only earn 69 cents, and American Indian and Alaska Native women earn only 59 cents to every dollar earned by men.

At the press conference, Members highlighted Democrats’ ongoing work to close the gender wage gap and announced the introduction of their Equal Pay Day Resolution, led by DWC Chair Lois Frankel (FL-22), Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), and DWC Vice Chairs Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) and Nikema Williams (GA-05), and cosponsored by 155 Members. The Members also urged the passage of Rep. DeLauro’s Paycheck Fairness Act, common-sense legislation to increase accountability and transparency to ensure all workers are paid fairly.

“Today marks a systemic injustice that weighs down half our country, holds back families, and violates the most basic principle of our democracy: that all are created equal,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark. “Democrats believe that a full day’s work should mean a full day’s pay – for everyone, not just men. We have fought tirelessly to ensure our daughters and granddaughters can be afforded the same opportunity and self-determination as our sons. I am proud to stand with my DWC colleagues in defense of equal pay and in our struggle for a more

“Equal pay is not only a matter of fairness and justice—it’s essential for creating a more equitable and prosperous world,” said Rep. Frankel. “For generations, women have received unequal pay for equal work, disproportionately occupied jobs in low-paying industries, and been forced to leave the workforce altogether due to lack of affordable child care. It’s long past time Congress took the necessary steps to close the wage gap.” 

For a woman working full time year-round, the current wage gap represents a loss of nearly $400,000 over the course of her career, a gap that widens dramatically for women of color. The wage gap impacts women’s ability to save for retirement, and hurts their Social Security and pension benefits, contributing to more older women living in poverty.If the annual gender wage gap were eliminated for just one year, on average, a working woman in the United States would have enough money for approximately 11 months of child care, nearly eight additional months of rent, more than five additional months of mortgage and utilities payments, two semesters of tuition and fees for a four-year public university or the full cost of tuition and fees for attending a two-year college, more than six additional months of premiums for employer-based health insurance, more than 55 weeks of food, or enough money to pay off student loan debt in just under five years.

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