Title: Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity between wages paid to men and women.
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the disparity between wages paid to men and women, and its impact on women, families, and the nation and reaffirms Congress' commitment to supporting equal pay and to narrowing the gender wage gap.


[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 24 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 24

  Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity between 
                      wages paid to men and women.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2021

 Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida (for herself, Ms. DeLauro, Mrs. Lawrence, 
 Ms. Adams, Mr. Auchincloss, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Bass, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. 
Beyer, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. 
    Bonamici, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Brown, Ms. 
  Brownley, Ms. Bush, Mrs. Bustos, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. 
 Carson, Mr. Case, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. 
Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Cohen, 
 Mr. Connolly, Mr. Cooper, Ms. Craig, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, 
 Ms. Dean, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DeGette, Ms. DelBene, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. 
    Deutch, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. 
  Escobar, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Espaillat, Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Gallego, Ms. 
 Garcia of Texas, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
Hastings, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Houlahan, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. 
Jacobs of California, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Jones, Mr. 
Kahele, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Keating, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Khanna, Mr. 
Kilmer, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Langevin, 
 Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mrs. Lee of Nevada, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. 
 Leger Fernandez, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. 
Lynch, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of 
   New York, Ms. Manning, Ms. Matsui, Mrs. McBath, Ms. McCollum, Mr. 
 McGovern, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Meng, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, 
Mr. Morelle, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Neguse, Ms. Newman, Mr. 
Norcross, Ms. Norton, Ms. Omar, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Pascrell, 
 Ms. Pingree, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Porter, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Price of North 
  Carolina, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Ross, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. 
Rush, Mr. Ryan, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Schrier, 
   Ms. Sewell, Ms. Sherrill, Mr. Sires, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. 
 Speier, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Swalwell, Mr. Takano, Ms. Titus, 
    Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Torres of New York, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Vargas, Ms. 
 Velazquez, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Welch, Ms. 
 Wexton, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Yarmuth, 
    Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, and Miss Rice of New York) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                         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)(1)) 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 over 5 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 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, 
        while Asian-American women working full-time, year-round are paid 87 
        cents, White, non-Hispanic women working full-time, year-round are paid 
        79 cents, African-American women working full-time, year-round are paid 
        63 cents, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women working full-time, 
        year-round are paid 60 cents, American Indian and Alaska Native women 
        working full-time, year-round are paid 60 cents, and Latinas working 
        full-time, year-round are paid 55 cents for every dollar paid to White, 
        non-Hispanic men;
Whereas March 24, 2021, is Equal Pay Day, marking the day that symbolizes how 
        long into 2021 women must work to make what men were paid in 2020;
Whereas March 9, 2021, is Asian American and Pacific Islander Women's Equal Pay 
        Day; August 3, 2021, is Black Women's Equal Pay Day; September 8, 2021, 
        is Native Women's Equal Pay Day; and October 21, 2021, is Latinas' Equal 
        Pay Day;
Whereas if current trends continue, Asian women are projected to close the 
        gender pay gap in 22 years, White women in 50 years, Black women in 350 
        years, and Latinas in 432 years;
Whereas the disparity in median annual earnings for women and men working full-
        time, year-round is $10,157; which can add up to more than $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 72 
        percent of men's earnings, and women with a professional degree earning 
        68 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 nearly half of 
        families with children under 18, and mothers working full-time typically 
        are paid 75 percent of what fathers are paid;
Whereas the gender wage gap collectively costs women employed full-time in the 
        United States more than $956 billion 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 13 
        more months of childcare, 9 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, almost 7 additional months of 
        premiums for employer-based health insurance, more than 8 additional 
        years of birth control, more than 64 weeks of food, or enough money to 
        pay off student loan debt in just under 3 years;
Whereas women hold two-thirds of the Nation's $1.54 trillion in outstanding 
        student loan debt, totaling over $929 billion, 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--

    (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 $212 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 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 one in three 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 $5.12 billion 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, three times 
        more women than men have left the workforce to look after their children 
        who are learning from home;
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 24, 
        2021, as Equal Pay Day to represent the additional time that women must 
        work to compensate for the average 18 percent lower wages paid to women 
        last year: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes the disparity between wages paid to women 
        and men and its impact on women, families, and the Nation; and
            (2) reaffirms its commitment to supporting equal pay and to 
        narrowing the gender wage gap.
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