Pelosi Statement on Equal Pay Day

Contact: Speaker's Press Office, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement marking Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year:

"Each Equal Pay Day, Americans must renew our solemn commitment to fully and finally securing fairness, equality and economic justice for women. This Equal Pay Day, we are celebrating a major achievement, by marking the passage by the House of H.R. 7, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro's landmark Paycheck Fairness Act to secure equal pay for equal work. Now, we call upon the U.S. Senate to take up and pass this critical legislation.

"Yet, much more remains to be done to achieve full fairness in our economy for women, as the gender wage gap continues to rob millions of women who work full-time, year-round of more than $400,000 over the course of their working lives, leaving too many women struggling to meet the everyday needs of themselves and their families. Today, American women still earn, on average, only 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man, while African American women earn only 61 cents and Latinas earn only 53 cents for every dollar paid to men.

"Our House Democratic Majority will never stop fighting until we have fully secured economic justice for women, and progress for working families. We will continue to work to unlock the potential of women in the workforce, with paid sick leave, affordable child care and a fair wage – because when women succeed, America succeeds."

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