Schakowsky Statement on Equal Pay Day

Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement to mark Equal Pay Day and bring attention to the stark gender pay gap that exists in the United States today. Equal Pay Day marks the date on which the average woman finally earns the same yearly salary as her male counterpart:

“Almost 100 days into 2017, the average woman is catching up to the earnings of the average man in 2016. The gender pay gap in the United States is flat-out unacceptable. It holds American women, families, and our economy back. We need equal pay in the United States, and we need it now.

“Today, I joined all of my Democratic colleagues in the House and many in the Senate in introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would build on the progress of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to remedy many of the discriminatory practices that employers use to pay women less. We should celebrate businesses that pay women the same amount as men for the same work, and we should make the wage gap a thing of the past. In this effort, it is important for us to support unions and the right to organize, which has been a driving force in ending the gender wage gap for decades.

“Finally, on Equal Pay Day I’d like to encourage the women in this country to run for office at every level. Not only do legislatures and elected positions pay women and men the same wages, but I’m quite certain that this problem would go away much faster with more women at the table.”

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