Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-22) will introduce the Equal Pay Day resolution later today when she returns to Washington. The bill recognizes that much work still needs to be done to reduce the pay disparity between women and men. Today, Tuesday April 9 is Equal Pay Day because it symbolizes how far in 2013 women must work in order to make what their male counterparts earned in 2012. This means that it took more than three months into 2013 for women’s wages to finally catch up to what men were paid in 2012.

“Women should receive equal pay for equal work,” Frankel said. “It’s about fairness and families.  Today, families increasingly rely on women’s wages to make ends meet to put food on the table and pay for doctors’ visits, childcare, rent and other living expenses.”

Nationally, women still earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male colleagues. These disparities persist across all occupations and educational levels. The wage gap between women and men could costs women from $400,000 to $2 million in lost wages over their careers, the Institute of Women’s Policy Research found.

In Florida the median pay for a woman working full-time is $33,823 per year compared to $40,951 for a man, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families—meaning women are paid 83 cents for every dollar paid to men in Florida.

The National Partnership for Women & Families found women who are employed full time in the Miami area lose over $4.8 billion each year because of the wage gap. The group also found that if the wage gap were eliminated in the Miami metro area, a working woman would have enough money for:

• 51 more weeks of food (about one year’s worth);
• Three more months of mortgage and utilities payments;
• Five more months of rent; or
• 1,618 additional gallons of gas

The Equal Pay Day resolution is being co-sponsored by more than 40 Members so far including Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, one of the leading voices in Congress for equal pay and sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Frankel is also a co-sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which DeLauro re-introduced in January.  The bill would prohibit companies from retaliating against workers who discuss salary information. The law would also require employers to prove any pay discrepancies among workers are unrelated to gender, as well as both necessary for the business and tied to job performance.

“Equal Pay Day provides a reminder of the persistent inequities that women face in the workforce,” DeLauro said. “The fact women make only 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male colleagues threatens women and families’ financial stability. With women bringing home an increasingly bigger share of family income, smaller paychecks hurt their spouses and children, as well as the entire economy. That is why Congress needs to pass The Paycheck Fairness Act. Equal pay for equal work should not be a partisan issue; it is time for the Paycheck Fairness Act to become law.”

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