Paycheck Fairness Act
Floor Speech
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Mrs. TORRES of California. Madam Chair, I rise today to offer an amendment to H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, and I strongly support H.R. 7 and any effort to address the gender wage gap in this country.
A terrible disparity exists in our country. Women on average make 80 cents to every dollar made by their White male counterpart. What is worse is that it is not getting any better.
Last year, the gender wage gap actually grew for women of color. For every dollar made by their non-Hispanic White male counterpart, an African American woman makes 61 cents, a Native American woman makes 58 cents, and women who look like me, Latinas, make 53 cents on the dollar for similar work. That is less than the average woman in the 1960s.
Do I not work just as hard as my male counterparts? Do I deserve to make 53 cents on the dollar? And do I not have to support my family just as much as any man?
Because of the gender pay gap, Latinas lose an average of $28,386. That amounts to more than $1 million over her career.
To earn the same amount as her White non-Hispanic male colleagues, a Black woman must work until she is 86 years old. You cannot get those hours back, those years back, or those decades back.
The gender wage gap contributes to a wealth of disparity that makes it harder for people of color to get ahead.
In 2013, the median White household had about $134,000 in total wealth. For the median Black household, it is $11,000. That is a 13-to- 1 ratio.
Addressing the gender wage gap is the first step to addressing larger issues of pay parity among historically underserved groups.
My first amendment changes the findings section of the Paycheck Fairness Act to recognize the devastating impacts the wage gap has on women of color. We must acknowledge that the wage gap is not color blind. By failing to recognize the specific effect the wage gap has on women and girls of color, these impacts might go unnoticed.
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Mrs. TORRES of California. Madam Chair, I am prepared to close.
Madam Chair, my amendment shines a light on the plight of women and girls of color and sets the tone to take their struggle into account throughout the rest of the bill.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle might have never heard about retaliation, about blacklisting. When women have the courage to come forward and report these wage thefts and abuses, they are treated differently under current law. That is why this bill is important. That is why this amendment is important.
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) for introducing this bill, for her dedication to fair pay.
Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Chair, again I say, Republicans abhor any type of discrimination, particularly pay discrimination against women.
Madam Chair, if H.R. 7 would help with the situation that my colleague described, we would be in favor of it. No woman should be discriminated against because she reports the fact that she is receiving unequal pay for work, but, again, H.R. 7 does nothing to help those situations. That is why we oppose it.
Madam Chair, H.R. 7 is not helping women; it is helping trial lawyers. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mrs. TORRES of California. Madam Chair, I rise today to offer a second amendment to H.R. 7, the Paycheck Fairness Act.
This amendment ensures that women and girls of color are included in the research, education, and outreach done by the Secretary of Labor.
The sad truth is that women, especially women of color, are still paid less than their male counterparts for the same type of work. I know this because it happened to me.
One of my very first jobs was in a male-dominated industry, selling steel. It didn't matter that I performed as well, if not better, than my male colleagues. It didn't matter that I sold steel in three languages while they sold in just one. I would do my own data entry to get the job done, while they relied on an assistant. And when I needed to rush a shipment, I was not afraid to walk into the warehouse, pick the material, pack it, and send it to my customer. I was still paid less.
I had to leave that job that I loved because I wasn't getting my fair share. It was a shame then and it is a shame today.
On average, Latinas still get paid 53 cents to every dollar made by their White male colleagues for the same type of work.
Today, we can act to change this. By passing the Paycheck Fairness Act with my amendment, maybe young Latinas and other women of color will not have to suffer and share my experience.
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Mrs. TORRES of California. Madam Chair, my amendment will expand the Paycheck Fairness Act to ensure the Secretary of Labor is paying attention to specific issues and researching the wage gap; educating employers, the media, and labor organizations on these findings, specifically highlighting the impact on underrepresented groups; ensuring minorities are included in informational and educational outreach programs; and celebrating the accomplishments of employers who are leading the way to specifically address the gender gap issue for women of color.
By paying specific attention to women of color in their research, maybe, one day, we can fill that gap to recognize that diversity of perspective can be an asset.
I wonder how different my experience would have been if the Paycheck Fairness Act would have been in place at the time. Would I still have become a homeowner? Maybe. Would I still have been a successful mother of three sons? Maybe. Would I have been able to afford to pay for childcare? Maybe. These are the things that women in business and the workforce are having to deal with every single day.
Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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