From: Mederos, Leticia [leticia.mederos@mail.house.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 2:47 PM
To: Dear Colleague
Subject: Dear Colleague, Labor, "Behind the Pay Gap"

Attachments: Embargoed_Behind_the_Pay_Gap.pdf

Behind the Pay Gap

Cosponsor "The Paycheck Fairness Act & "The Fair Pay Act"


<<Embargoed_Behind_the_Pay_Gap.pdf>>

Dear Colleague:

We would like to bring your attention to the attached report, Behind the Pay Gap, released just in time for Equal Pay Day by the American Association of University Women. This new report reveals that women's clear educational achievements have not resulted in equal pay, even when they have the same major and work in the same field as their male counterparts.

Behind the Pay Gap shows that just one year after college graduation, women earn only 80 percent of what their male counterparts. Ten years after college graduation, women fall further behind, earning only 69 percent of what men earn. After controlling for factors known to affect earnings such as education and training, parenthood and hours worked, the AAUW research found that a portion of this pay gap still remains unexplained. These findings suggest that sex discrimination not only continues to be a problem in the workplace, but that it affects the incomes of even the most educated women and affects them immediately out of college.

It is past time that we address the persistent gender wage gap for all women. That is why we have introduced legislation that would address the historic pattern of undervaluing and underpaying women. The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338), introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, would close critical loopholes under current law. This legislation would take meaningful steps to empower women to negotiate for equal pay, to create strong incentives for employers to follow the law, and to strengthen federal outreach and enforcement efforts. 

The Fair Pay Act, which was reintroduced yesterday on Equal Pay Day by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, addresses the reality that men and women are often clustered in different industries and occupations, and requires employers to provide equal pay for work of equal value, whether or not the jobs are identical - i.e., jobs that require comparable education, skills, responsibilities, and working conditions. 

AAUW's latest report, Behind the Pay Gap, underscores the need for our respective legislation, and we urge you to support both measures. To co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 1338), please contact Letty Mederos in Rep. Rosa DeLauro's office (5-3661). To co-sponsor the Fair Pay Act, please contact Dionne Johnson in Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton's office (5-8050)

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