IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 22 

Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity between wages 

paid to men and women. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2023 

Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida (for herself, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. LEGER

FERNANDEZ, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, 

Ms. BALINT, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BISHOP of 

Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, 

Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, 

Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. BUSH, Ms. CARAVEO, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASE, Ms. CASTOR of 

Florida, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. CHU, 

Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, 

Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. 

DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DELUZIO, 

Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GALLEGO, 

Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. 

GOTTHEIMER, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. 

HIGGINS of New York, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. HOYLE of Oregon, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 

KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KEATING, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, 

Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER, Mrs. 

LEE of Nevada, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LIEU, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. 

LYNCH, Ms. MANNING, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. 

MORELLE, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 

PETERS, Ms. PETTERSEN, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PLASKETT, Mr. POCAN, 

Ms. PORTER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Mr. RASKIN, 

Ms. ROSS, Mr. SABLAN, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCANLON, 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of 

Georgia, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. 

SOTO, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. STANTON, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. STRICKLAND, 

Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. 

TONKO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. TRONE, Mr. 


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VARGAS, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. 

WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WEXTON, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity 

between wages paid to men and women. 

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; 

Whereas, nearly six decades after the passage of the Equal 

Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 206 note), Census Bureau 

data show that women working full time, year round are 

paid an average of 84 cents for every dollar paid to men, 

while Asian-American women working full time, year 

round are paid 92 cents, White, non-Hispanic women 

working full time, year round are paid 80 cents, AfricanAmerican women working full time, year round are paid 

67 cents, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women 

working full time, year round are paid 65 cents, American Indian and Alaska Native women working full time, 

year round are paid 57 cents, and Latinas working full 

time, year round are paid 57 cents for every dollar paid 

to White, non-Hispanic men; 


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Whereas March 14, 2023, is Equal Pay Day, marking the 

day that symbolizes how long into 2023 women must 

work to make what men were paid in 2022; 

Whereas April 5, 2023, is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, 

and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day; August 

30, 2023, is Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Women’s 

Equal Pay Day; July 27, 2023, is Black Women’s Equal 

Pay Day; November 30, 2023, is Native Women’s Equal 

Pay Day; and October 5, 2023, is Latinas’ Equal Pay 

Day; 

Whereas, if current trends continue, Asian women are projected to close the gender pay gap for all workers, including part-time, full time, and seasonal workers, in 24 

years, White women in 43 years, Black women in 121 

years, and Latinas in 187 years; 

Whereas the disparity in median annual earnings for women 

and men working full time, year round is $9,954, which 

can add up to nearly $400,000 over a career; 

Whereas women’s median earnings are less than men’s at 

every level of academic achievement, with women with 

less than a high school diploma earning 78 percent of 

men’s earnings, and women with a professional degree 

earning 70 percent of men’s earnings at the same level 

of education; 

Whereas women are often paid less than men with lower levels of education, with women with associate’s degrees 

paid less than men with a high school diploma, and 

women with master’s degrees paid less than men with 

bachelor’s degrees; 

Whereas, in the United States, mothers are breadwinners in 

more than half of families with children under 18, and 


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mothers working full time typically are paid 74 percent 

of what fathers are paid; 

Whereas the gender wage gap collectively costs women employed full time in the United States more than 

$958,000,000,000 in annual lost wages, so that families 

have less money to spend on goods and services that help 

drive economic growth; 

Whereas, if the annual gender wage gap were eliminated, on 

average, a working woman in the United States would 

have enough money for approximately 1 year of childcare, 

8 additional months of rent, 6 additional months of mortgage and utilities payments, the full cost of tuition and 

fees for attending a 2-year college, more than 6 additional months of premiums for employer-based health insurance, more than 8 additional years of birth control, 

more than 62 weeks of food, or enough money to pay off 

student loan debt in just under 4 years; 

Whereas women hold nearly two-thirds of the Nation’s 

$1,700,000,000,000 in outstanding student loan debt, totaling over $929,000,000,000, and are less likely to be 

able to pay off their student loan debt promptly due to 

wage disparities; 

Whereas the wage gap impacts women’s ability to save for retirement and women’s total Social Security and pension 

benefits, and older women are more likely than men to 

live in poverty; 

Whereas sex discrimination in education, hiring, and promotion has played a role in maintaining a workforce segregated by sex; 

Whereas sex-based wage differentials— 


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(1) depress employee wages and living standards 

necessary for health and well-being; 

(2) reduce family incomes and contribute to the 

higher poverty rates among women and their families; 

and 

(3) prevent the effective and maximum utilization of 

available labor resources; 

Whereas a wage gap exists in nearly every occupational field, 

but opening traditionally male-dominated jobs to women 

and reducing occupational segregation by sex increases 

earnings for women; 

Whereas nearly two-thirds of workers paid the minimum 

wage or less are women, and the concentration of women 

in low-wage jobs is a significant contributor to the wage 

gap; 

Whereas the gender wage gap between union women and men 

is about half the size of the wage gap between nonunion 

women and men, and women union members typically 

earn $214 more per week than women who are not represented by unions; 

Whereas, as much as 38 percent of the wage gap is unexplained by observable factors such as variation in educational attainment, industry, and occupation, and may 

reflect discrimination; 

Whereas two-thirds of private sector workers report that employers either prohibit or discourage them from discussing their pay, which can keep the existence of pay 

discrimination hidden and prevent remedying that discrimination; 

Whereas the lack of family-friendly policies, such as access to 

affordable, quality childcare, paid family and medical 


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leave, paid sick days, and fair and predictable work 

schedules, forces many caregivers to choose between providing for their families financially and ensuring their 

loved ones receive quality care, and contributes to the 

wage gap; 

Whereas 1 in 3 women have been on the receiving end of sexual harassment during their careers, and an estimated 87 

to 94 percent of those who experience sexual harassment 

never file a formal complaint; 

Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave 

their occupation or industry, or pass up opportunities for 

advancement, and this contributes to the gender wage 

gap; 

Whereas equal pay strengthens the economic security of families and enhances retirement savings; 

Whereas, when women are paid fairly, families are stronger, 

businesses prosper, and American values and the economy are strengthened; 

Whereas, if women in the United States received equal pay 

comparable with men, poverty for working women would 

be reduced by half, and the economy would add 

$5,120,000,000 annually, based on a 2017 analysis; 

Whereas the economic fallout from the COVID–19 pandemic 

has had a disproportionate impact on women and women 

of color, with women losing the majority of jobs lost since 

March 2020; 

Whereas, since women earn less on average than their male 

partners, 3 times more women than men have left the 

workforce to look after their children who are learning 

from home; 


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Whereas women and women of color are now experiencing the 

lowest rates of employment in decades; and 

Whereas numerous national organizations have designated 

Wednesday, March 14, 2023, as ‘‘Equal Pay Day’’ to 

represent the additional time that women must work to 

compensate for the average 16-percent lower wages paid 

to women working full time, year round last year: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes the disparity between wages paid 

4 to women and men and its impact on women, fami5 lies, and the Nation; and 

6 (2) reaffirms its commitment to supporting 

7 equal pay and to narrowing the gender wage gap. 

Æ 


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