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Paycheck Fairness Act

Floor Speech

Date: April 15, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Women Employment and Affirmative Action

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Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, did you know that over 40 percent of mothers are sole or primary breadwinners for their families? It has been over 50 years since the Equal Pay Act was signed into law, yet the problems that preceded that legislation remain today. So it is time for the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Mr. Speaker, across the country, women are paid 80 cents to the dollar that men are paid, and the number is significantly lower for women of color. Black women make roughly 60 percent to the dollar. Native-American women make about 57 cents. And Latina women make just over 50 to the dollar.

The discriminatory wage gap is costing women thousands of dollars a year for doing the exact same work as their male counterparts. And I see this right here in my community and my district where women are forced to work longer hours, harder, just to make ends meet and put food on the table for their families.

My community is one of the poorest in the Nation, and the wage gap is one of the biggest factors for families who are really trying to get out of the cycle of poverty and get the support for their children so they can thrive.

I am grateful to my colleagues on the Committee on Education and Labor for bringing this long overdue legislation.

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