Press Releases

Today marks the anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first piece of legislation that President Obama signed when he took office. Seven years later, however, equal pay has still not been achieved. Last year, women who worked fulltime earn just 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. African-American and Hispanic women earn 60 and 50 cents, respectively, per every dollar earned by white men.

It is shameful that in this day and age, women are still fighting to be paid a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work. That is why I applaud President Obama for taking steps to increase the amount of data collected by the federal government on worker pay by gender, race and ethnicity. This information will prove helpful in uncovering and addressing inequities

I am also a strong supporter of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would empower women to fight against wage discrimination and closes loopholes that have allowed employers to skirt their responsibility to compensate women fairly. These persistent gaps are not only an affront to the nation’s hardworking women, but also to families. Closing the wage gap is particularly important in my district, where women are the primary breadwinners in many households and make up nearly half of the labor force.”

Congresswoman Wilson is the ranking Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, which has jurisdiction over issues related to wages.

Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson is a third-term Congresswoman from Florida representing parts of Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward counties. A former state legislator and school principal, she is the founder of the 5000 Role Models for Excellence Project, a mentoring program for young males at risk of dropping out of school. Congresswoman Wilson also founded the Florida Ports Caucus, a bipartisan taskforce that coordinates federal action in support of Florida’s harbors and waterways.