Title: A concurrent resolution recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid to men and to Black women.
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
This concurrent resolution recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Black women and its impact on women, families, and the nation, and reaffirms Congress' support for ensuring equal pay and closing the gender wage gap.


[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 12 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 12

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2021

Mr. Warnock (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
  Brown, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. 
 Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
Ossoff, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Smith, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Warren, Mr. Wyden, 
     Mr. Kaine, and Mr. Bennet) 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 and to Black women.

Whereas August 3, 2021, is Black Women's Equal Pay Day, which marks the day that 
        symbolizes how long into 2021 Black women 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)) 
        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, despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 206 note) 5 
        decades ago, which requires that men and women in the same workplace be 
        given equal pay for equal work, Census Bureau data show that Black women 
        working full time, year round, are paid 63 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 over 
        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 Black women's median earnings are less than men's 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;
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 employer-based 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 a small number of women who experience 
        harassment, about 1 in 10, 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 two-thirds 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;
Whereas the pay disparity Black women face is part of a wider set of disparities 
        Black women face 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 August 3, 2021, as Black 
        Women's Equal Pay Day to represent the additional time that women must 
        work to compensate for the lower wages paid to Black women last year: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Black women 
        and its impact on women, families, and the United States; and
            (2) reaffirms its support for ensuring equal pay for equal 
        work and narrowing the gender wage gap.
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