Last week Republicans failed to push forward the Paycheck Fairness Act for the third time, possibly extending the gender pay gap and further hurting women in the workforce.
The Paycheck Fairness Act, approved by the House of Representatives in 2009 and supported by the Obama administration, aims to close the pay gap by many measures, including encouraging employers to comply when workers have grievances or questions about their wages. The act also encourages to heighten penalties against pay disparities and violations within the workplace.
In the past, there have been efforts of closing the gender pay gap, with the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The act, much like the Paycheck Fairness Act, moved to abolish wage based on discrimination.
Women’s earnings have risen since then, but are still not equal to men’s. We have been fighting for this for more than 50 years, so why haven’t we been able to completely close the gender wage gap?
Women making 77 cents to a man’s dollar (and the wage is even less for women of color) is a fact that is subconsciously accepted by society. How can we go forward if we continue to under pay women and minority workers?
Lisa Maatz, the vice president of government relations at the American Association of University Women, said she was disappointed with the GOP’s delay.
“GOP senators essentially filibustered equal pay for women,” she told the Huffington Post.
What the GOP fails to realize is today, women make up half the workforce. According to Forbes.com, the percentage of women in college versus men in college is steadily increasing.
That indicates that women do want to earn degrees and have high-paying jobs in their chosen field – which is exactly what men are doing. Women are now doing the exact same things men are doing to obtain a career – so why are women still getting paid less?
The Paycheck Fairness Act is something that should have been passed a long time ago – why the delay?
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.