Source: United States Senator for California – Dianne Feinstein
Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement after voting to support the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that would have modified the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Equal Pay Act to help shrink the gender pay gap. Currently, women in the United States on average earn only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. The bill failed to reach cloture in the Senate on a 50-50 vote.
“Equal pay for equal work is a legal requirement, but the gender wage gap persists due to shortcomings in the law. It’s disappointing that addressing those inadequacies has become a partisan issue.
“While we’ve made progress thanks to the Equal Pay Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, women still earn only 82 cents for every dollar men are paid. That pay gap is even larger for women of color.
“This disparity doesn’t just hurt women, it also hurts the families that many of them support. Women are the sole or co-breadwinner in more than half of all U.S. families. Simply by closing the gender pay gap, we can help cut the poverty rate in half for working women.
“The economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately hurt women. As our economy continues to recover, it’s important that we address the wage gap to help families recover. Hopefully, Republicans will join us in that effort and reconsider the Paycheck Fairness Act.”
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