Thank you Rosa!

Congress Votes to Close Wage Gap, Passes DeLauro’s Paycheck Fairness Act -- Pay equity is about economic security for women & their families

From the Press Release:

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives, passed the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 12), introduced by Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3). The legislation aims to close the wage gap between men and women by strengthening and giving teeth to the Equal Pay Act and closing loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay. The bill was approved overwhelmingly by a vote of 256-163.

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Forty four years after the Equal Pay Act was signed into law, pay discrimination still exists in the workplace. As a result, millions of American families lose out. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, working women stand to lose $250,000 over the course of their career because of unequal pay practices. According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the wage gap continues to persist even though women posted a greater net increase in jobs paying above the median salary than men from 2000 to 2005. In 2005, the median weekly pay for men was $663 compared to 73 percent of that for women, who earned $486 a week on average.

More info available at Congresswoman DeLauro’s website