LatinaLista — Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, a significant piece of legislation in closing the gender pay gap .
Latina Lista would like to thank Congresswoman Hilda Solis for elevating attention to this historic piece of legislation and what it means to Latinas:
By Congresswoman Hilda Solis
The House of Representatives made significant progress in closing the wage gap for all women last Thursday, especially women of color, by passing H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Even though the Equal Pay Act was first signed into law in 45 years ago, women today earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. For women of color, the pay disparities are even worse.
Latinas earn on average 57 cents to every dollar that a man earns. African-American women earn just 68 cents to every dollar that a man earns.
These unacceptably low wage disparities for women are finally being address by Congress. The Paycheck Fairness Act will help empower women workers with the skills and knowledge they need to achieve pay equity with their male colleagues.
The bill provides the penalties and mechanisms that are needed to combat wage discrimination on the US. The bill requires the U.S. Department of Labor to increase outreach and training efforts to work with employers to eliminate pay disparities and creates a new grant program to help strengthen the negotiation skills of girls and women.
This legislation passed the U.S. House on Thursday by a vote of 247 – 178. I was proud to not only co-sponsor and vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act, but speak on the floor of the House of Representatives in favor of its passage.
The Paycheck Fairness Act is not just important to women, but it is vital to the economic security of working families. In these times of rising unemployment, foreclosures and high energy costs, we must address this clear inequity in wages between men and women.
The Paycheck Fairness Act helps women everywhere, especially Latinas, to get paid what they truly deserve for their vital contributions to America’s economy, while helping fight racial and gender discrimination.
