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

Summary:
This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity between wages paid to Latina 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. 55 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 55

 Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages 
               paid to Latina women in comparison to men.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 21, 2021

  Ms. Leger Fernandez (for herself, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. 
Gallego, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mrs. 
   Trahan, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms. Adams, Ms. Escobar, Mr. 
 Nadler, Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Garcia 
of Texas, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Lieu, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Speier, Ms. 
Brownley, Mr. Welch, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Jacobs 
   of California, Ms. Newman, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Vicente 
Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Castro of Texas, 
    Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Norcross, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. Garcia of 
 Illinois, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Raskin, Mrs. Torres of 
   California, Ms. Dean, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. 
DelBene, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Chu, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Jones, 
 Ms. Bass, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Omar, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Clarke 
    of New York, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Williams of 
Georgia, Mr. Cuellar, Ms. Strickland, Ms. Meng, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms. 
  Wilson of Florida, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Evans, Mr. Costa, Mr. Johnson of 
 Georgia, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Pressley, Ms. 
Matsui, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. Bonamici, 
Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Gomez, Ms. 
 Ross, Mr. Soto, Mr. Kahele, Mr. Vela, Mr. Carbajal, Ms. McCollum, Ms. 
   Titus, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Correa, and Ms. Stansbury) 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 in wages 
               paid to Latina women in comparison to men.

Whereas October 21, 2021, is ``Latina Equal Pay Day'', which marks the day that 
        symbolizes how long into 2021 Latina women, on average, must work to 
        make what White, non-Hispanic men were paid in 2020;
Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
        206(d)(1)) prohibits discrimination in wages on the basis of sex for 
        equal work;
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, despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 206 note) 
        more than five decades ago, which establishes that employers shall not 
        discriminate in wages on the basis of sex, but shall provide equal pay 
        for equal work, Census Bureau data shows that Latina women working full-
        time, year-round are typically paid 57 cents for every dollar paid to 
        White, non-Hispanic men;
Whereas as a study conducted in 2019 found that on average, Latina women lose 
        over $1,100,000 in potential earnings over their lifetime to the wage 
        gap;
Whereas the median annual pay for a Latina woman in the United States working 
        full-time, year-round was $38,718 in 2020, placing a working mother with 
        two children near poverty;
Whereas job loss during the pandemic distorted measurements of average wages as 
        women with lower earnings in sectors such as leisure, hospitality, and 
        retail were more likely to experience job loss and leave the labor 
        force;
Whereas the Latina unemployment rate peaked at 20.1 percent in April 2020, and 
        the Latina civilian labor force participation rate fell from a high of 
        59.2 percent in October 2019 to 57 percent in September 2020;
Whereas lost wages mean Latina women have less money to support themselves and 
        their families, save and invest for the future, and spend on goods and 
        services;
Whereas 51 percent of Latinas are unable to earn sick days through their jobs;
Whereas more than half of Latina low-wage earners report that they spent most or 
        all of their savings during the pandemic, and 32 percent have no money 
        left for emergencies, compared to 13 percent of White men;
Whereas the lack of affordable, accessible childcare during the COVID-19 
        pandemic led 14 percent of Latinas, and 32 percent of immigrant Latinas, 
        to quit their jobs or reduce their number of work hours to care for 
        their children;
Whereas the underpayment of Latina workers causes businesses and the economy to 
        suffer;
Whereas the lack of access to affordable, quality childcare, paid family and 
        medical leave, and other family friendly workplace policies forces many 
        Latina women to choose between their paycheck or job and getting quality 
        care for themselves or their family members, a dynamic that contributes 
        to the wage gap and has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 
        pandemic, especially as Latina women disproportionately work in 
        essential jobs that put them at greater risk of exposure to COVID-19;
Whereas, if the wage gap were eliminated, on average, a Latina woman working 
        full-time, year-round would have enough money for approximately 3 years 
        of childcare, to pay off her student debt in 1 year, or to pay off 19 
        months of the average mortgage payment;
Whereas 25 to 85 percent of women have been sexually harassed at the workplace, 
        and research has found that only a small number of those who experience 
        harassment, or about 1 in 10, formally report incidents for reasons 
        including lack of access to the complaint process and fear of 
        retaliation;
Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave their occupation or 
        industry, as targets of harassment are 6.5 times as likely as nontargets 
        to change jobs, or pass up opportunities for advancement, and this 
        contributes to the gender wage gap;
Whereas there is a high personal cost for women who have been sexually harassed, 
        including unemployment, underemployment, and financial stress resulting 
        from changing jobs, which lead to long-term consequences for earnings 
        and career attainment;
Whereas two-thirds of workers paid the minimum wage or less in 2020 were women, 
        and there is a disproportionate concentration of women of color in low-
        wage and tipped jobs;
Whereas the pay disparity Latina women face is part of a wider set of 
        disparities Latina women face in home ownership, unemployment, poverty, 
        access to childcare, and the ability to build wealth;
Whereas true pay equity requires a multifaceted strategy that addresses the 
        gender and racial injustices that Latina women face daily; and
Whereas many national organizations have designated October 21, 2021, as 
        ``Latina Equal Pay Day'' to represent the additional time that Latina 
        women must work into the next calendar year to receive the earnings of 
        their White, non-Hispanic counterparts in the prior census year: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Latina women 
        and its impact on women, families, the economy and our entire 
        country; and
            (2) reaffirms its support for ensuring equal pay and 
        closing the gender wage gap.
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