Today, Harlem Congressman Adriano Espaillat issued the following statement in recognition of Equal Pay Day.
President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law on June 10, 1963, which established the principle of women in the workforce receiving equal pay for equal work. Equal Pay Day recognizes that there is still much work that remains in our efforts to ensure full gender equality in the workplace.
African American women on average earn 63 cents and Latinas on average earn only 54 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. Those numbers are unacceptable and if the pay trend continues at the stagnant pace it has remained for the past 50 years, women will reach pay parity with their male counterparts no sooner than 2059. African American women will not reach parity until 2124, and Latinas will have to wait until 2233.
“Despite the Equal Pay Act, women who work full-time year-round still earn on average 80 cents for every dollar earned by men. Women of color face an even greater earning disparity. Consider the following facts – African American women on average earn 63 cents and Latinas on average earn only 54 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. Those numbers are unacceptable and if the pay trend continues at the stagnant pace it has remained for the past 50 years, women will reach pay parity with their male counterparts no sooner than 2059. African American women will not reach parity until 2124, and Latinas will have to wait until 2233. Not only is this morally intolerable, but our current gender pay disparity is not reflective of the values of this country,” said Rep. Espaillat.
“Pay inequality is a family issue and when a woman earns part-time pay for full time work, it hurts her family and impacts millions of hard working households around our nation. Equal pay for equal work is a fundamental principle of fairness in our economy and our democracy. Yet, more than half a century after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, America’s working women are still being denied this fairness. When women succeed, America succeeds – and when any group of individuals is impaired intentionally or otherwise, none of us can successfully move forward. The success of women is more important today than ever, and our work must continue until pay equity becomes the norm for women in every industry across the workforce.”
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