III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 48 

Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid 

to men as compared to wages paid to Black women. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 

Mr. WARNOCK submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity 

in wages paid to men as compared to wages paid to 

Black women. 

Whereas September 21, 2022, is Black Women’s Equal Pay 

Day, which marks the number of days into 2022 that 

Black women must work in order to earn the same 

amount, since January 1, 2021, that White, non-Hispanic men were paid in 2021; 

Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 

1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d)) prohibits discrimination in compensation for equal work on the basis of sex; 

Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

2000e et seq.) prohibits discrimination in compensation 

because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex; 


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•SCON 48 IS 

Whereas despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 

(Public Law 88–38; 77 Stat. 56) 5 decades ago, which 

requires that men and women in the same workplace be 

given equal pay for equal work, data from the Bureau of 

the Census shows that Black women working full-time, 

year-round, are paid 58 cents for every dollar paid to 

White, non-Hispanic men; 

Whereas if the current trends continue, on average, Black 

women will have to wait 100 years to achieve equal pay; 

Whereas the median annual pay for a Black woman in the 

United States working full-time, year-round, is $41,098, 

which means that, on average, Black women lose nearly 

$964,400 in potential earnings to the wage gap during 

the course of a 40-year career; 

Whereas lost wages mean Black women have less money to 

support themselves and their families, save and invest for 

the future, and spend on goods and services, causing 

businesses and the economy to suffer as a result; 

Whereas the median earnings of Black women are less than 

the median earnings of men at every level of academic 

achievement; 

Whereas, in the United States, more than 80 percent of 

Black mothers are key breadwinners or co-breadwinners 

for their families, but Black mothers working full time 

are paid only 52 percent as much as fathers; 

Whereas the lack of access to affordable, quality childcare, 

paid family and medical leave, paid sick leave, and other 

family-friendly workplace policies contributes to the wage 

gap by forcing many Black women to choose between 

their paycheck or job and getting quality care for themselves or their family members; 


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•SCON 48 IS 

Whereas if the wage gap were eliminated, on average, a 

Black woman working full time would have enough 

money for approximately 2.5 additional years of tuition 

and fees for a 4-year public university, the full cost of 

tuition and fees for a 2-year community college, more 

than 16 additional months of premiums for employerbased health insurance, 153 weeks of food for her family, 

15 additional months of mortgage and utilities payments, 

22 more months of rent, nearly 20 additional years of 

birth control, or enough money to pay off student loan 

debt in just over 1 year; 

Whereas 25 to 85 percent of women have been sexually harassed at the workplace, and research has found that only 

about 1 in 10 women who experience harassment, formally report incidents for reasons including lack of access 

to the complaints processes and fear of retaliation; 

Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave 

their occupation or industry; 

Whereas targets of harassment were 6.5 times as likely as 

nontargets to change jobs or pass up opportunities for 

advancement, contributing to the gender wage gap; 

Whereas Black women were the most likely of all racial and 

ethnic groups to have filed a sexual harassment charge; 

Whereas nearly 2⁄3 of workers paid the minimum wage or less 

are women, and there is an overrepresentation of women 

of color in low-wage and tipped occupations; 

Whereas more than 62 percent of women working in the private sector reported that they were either discouraged or 

prohibited from discussing wage and salary information, 

which can hide pay discrimination and prevent remedies; 


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•SCON 48 IS 

Whereas the pay disparity Black women face is part of a 

wider set of disparities Black women encounter in home 

ownership, unemployment, poverty, access to childcare, 

and the ability to accumulate wealth; 

Whereas the gender wage gap for Black women has only narrowed by 3 cents in the last 3 decades; 

Whereas true pay equity requires a multifaceted strategy that 

addresses the gendered and racial injustices that Black 

women face daily; 

Whereas the pandemic has disproportionately economically 

impacted Black women; and 

Whereas many national organizations have designated September 21, 2022, as Black Women’s Equal Pay Day to 

represent the additional time that Black women must 

work to compensate for the lower wages paid to Black 

women last year: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes the disparity in wages paid to 

4 Black women and its impact on women, families, 

5 and the United States; and 

6 (2) reaffirms its support for ensuring equal pay 

7 for equal work and narrowing the gender wage gap. 

Æ 


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