Oregon NOW

National Organization for Women

Advocating for Women & Girls

Donate Join NOW

  • About
    • Newsletters
  • Issues
    • NOW Priority Issues
    • Model Student Dress Code
  • Get Involved
    • Join
    • Donate
  • News
  • Events
    • 2021 Oregon NOW Conference
    • 2019 Annual Conference
  • Endorsements
  • Chapters
    • Leaders
  • Merchandise Shop

January 29, 2019 by NOW National

The Paycheck Fairness Act Would Finally Assure Equal Pay for Equal Work

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON – When the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963, women were paid 58 cents for every dollar earned by men. Fifty-six years after the act’s passage, the difference is still apparent. Today, women are paid only 80 cents for every man’s dollar, and the gap is even wider for women of color. The career earnings loss due to sex- and race-based pay discrimination for many women total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Paycheck Fairness Act was first introduced in the 105th Congress, 1997-1998 — more than 20 years and 11 Congresses ago. Women have been waiting for far too long for equal treatment. The Paycheck Fairness Act would bring us several important steps closer to parity.

Today, on the ten-year anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) introduces the Paycheck Fairness Act as H.R. 7. This act would begin to close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and address other ways to close the gender wage gap. Namely, it would increase penalties for wage discrimination and assure that employers determine wages through the factors of experience, training, and education, rather than sex. The act would also direct federal agencies to collect data on compensation discrimination and publicly disclose it.

The progress of women in the workforce over the last fifty-six years is evident, but the financial penalty many women experience due to sex- and race-based pay discrimination must stop. If closing the wage gap continues at its agonizingly-slow current rate, men and women will not reach wage equality until 2059. That is forty years too long.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) calls on members of Congress to support the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R.7) and to take leadership in moving this important advancement for working women and their families to passage.

Contact

NOW Press, press@now.org, 202-628-8669

About NOW National

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Get Oregon NOW Updates

Sign up here to receive updates from Oregon NOW!

Subscribe

Take Action

Endorsements (noworegon.org)

Attend an Event

Become a Oregon NOW Member

Learn More

Model Student Dress Code

Oregon NOW

Oregon NOW is the state chapter of the National Organization for Women. We work on behalf of NOW members in Oregon to achieve equality for all women and girls and to amplify the work of justice-seeking organizations.

Learn more about us.

Contact

Mailing Address
Oregon NOW
P.O. Box 14415
Portland, OR 97293

E-Mail
info@noworegon.org

Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Handcrafted with by Mapped Digital. NOW Chapter Websites Reinvented.