This week, Senate Democrats recognize Equal Pay Day and the persistent and unfortunate gender wage gap that affects all Americans. Equal Pay Day, celebrated this year on April 20, is the day on which women’s earnings catch up to men’s earning from the previous year. It has taken the average American woman four additional months to earn what the average American man earned in 12 months last year. This wage disparity not only places women at a significant economic disadvantage, but also threatens the economic stability and security of American families struggling during these tough economic times. According to the American Association of University Women, families lose $200 billion annually in income due to the wage gap. [AAUW, Breaking Through Barriers for Women and Girls]

The most recent data shows that women, on average, earn almost 78 cents for every dollar paid to men. [U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey, Sept. 2009] Since 1963, when President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act making it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women performing equal work, the gender wage gap has improved at less than half of a percent. [National Partnership for Women & Families, Fact vs. Fiction] This slow rate of progress has harmed women and their families, especially as the workforce participation rate of women has risen. Today, there are roughly 70 million women in our nation’s workforce. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010]

Senate Democrats understand that wage discrimination harms our families and our economy. That is why the Democrat-led Congress passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which restored the ability of workers to effectively seek legal redress for pay discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, age, or disability. The legislation was signed into law (P.L. 111-2) on January 29, 2009 by President Barack Obama. The efforts by Senate Democrats and President Obama ended a nearly two-year battle to overturn a Supreme Court decision that made it more difficult for victims of pay discrimination to seek redress and receive justice. The American people can be assured that Senate Democrats are committed to making sure that all Americans receive equal pay for equal work.

More women are working outside the home. Today, women make up half of the workforce and over 70 percent of mothers work outside the home. [Testimony of Heather Boushey before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, 3/11/10]In fact, two-thirds of mothers contribute at least a quarter of their family’s earnings. [Heather Boushey, 3/11/10]For American families touched by the Recession, the burden of wage discrimination weighs heavily because women’s economic contributions are even more important to maintain economic stability.

More Americans depend on working women’s wages to support their families.The skyrocketing unemployment rate since the start of the Recession has altered the significance of women’s paychecks for millions of families. Since December 2007, out of every 10 jobs lost, 7 of those jobs were held by men. [Heather Boushey, 3/11/10]Today, many families depend on women as the breadwinner or sole provider due to the high rate of unemployment. In 2008, 40 percent of mothers were their family’s breadwinner, up from 27.7 percent in 1967. [Heather Boushey, 3/11/10]If married women earned as much as their male counterparts their families would earn almost 6 percent more in family income. [AAUW,Breaking Through Barriers for Women and Girls]

Pay equity is commonsense and good business for companies. Paying women equal pay for equal work supports the growth of companies and promotes the economic health of businesses. According to the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation, companies that hire and retain more women gain a competitive edge. These companies show stronger financial performance and, because women make up 50 percent of the workforce, these companies are able to hire more selectively. Businesses that pay women fairly for their work may experience increased worker retention and benefit from increased employee productivity. [Testimony of Deborah Frett before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, 3/11/10]

The pay gap exists across all education levels and begins immediately after college.

Women of all educational backgrounds experience a pay disparity with their male colleagues, however women with only a high school degree face even higher wage disparities with their male counterparts than college-educated women. [National Women’s Law Center, January 2010]Women who have not finished high school will lose $270,000 over the course of a 40-year career. [Heather Boushey, 3/11/10]

Unfortunately, attending college does not shield women from the gender pay gap. The American Association of University Women has found that, holding all other factors equal, women earn five percent less than men just one year out of college. [AAUW,July 2009]This disparity rises over time. Ten years after graduating from college, women face an even larger pay gap, earning 12 percent less than men. Women with at least a college degree will lose over $700,000 over the course of a 40-year career. [Heather Boushey, 3/11/10]While the pay disparity is less than that of those women who have not graduated from high school, the impact in terms of real dollars is greater.

The pay gap exists across all career fields, even when men and women hold the same position. There are over 500 occupational categories used to calculate the wage ratio between men and women’s earnings. Of these, there are only five occupations in which women earn as much or more than men: 1) counselors; 2) special education teachers; 3) construction and extraction occupations; 4) installation, maintenance, and repair occupations; and 5) physical and social science technicians. [Institute for Women’s Policy Research, April 2009]

Unfortunately, men outpace women in earnings in all other occupations from the highest-paying– where women earn between 64.4 (physicians and surgeons) to 86.9 (computer software engineers) percent of men’s earnings – to the lowest-paying – where women earn between 83.3 (laundry and dry cleaning workers) to 91.8 (food preparation workers) percent of men’s earnings. [Institute for Women’s Policy Research, April 2009]

The pay gap is exacerbated by race and ethnicity. Although all women face pay discrimination, women of color fare worse than white women. In 2008, African American women working fulltime earned just 61 percent of white men’s income and Hispanic women working fulltime earned only 52 percent of white men’s income. [National Women’s Law Center, January 2010] Communities of color are harmed even more by the pay disparities because women of color are more likely to be single parents, supporting their families with their wages.

Although this fact sheet focuses on the gender pay disparity, pay inequity exists amongst male workers by race and ethnicity as well. In 2007, African American men made only 76 percent of white men’s earnings, while Hispanic men made only 66 percent of while men’s earnings. [AAUW, Breaking Through Barriers for Women and Girls]

Wage disparities affect women throughout their lifetime. Women’s plans for buying a home, putting their children through college, and planning for retirement are impacted by the wage gap. Women will lose roughly $400,000 over the course of their lifetimes because of gender wage disparities. [National Women’s Law Center, January 2010] Because retirement benefits are tied to earnings, women also earn fewer Social Security and pension benefits than men. [American Association of University Women, Behind the Pay Gap]

The pay gap exists in every state and the District of Columbia. There is no state in which women have gained economic parity with men. The District of Columbia has the smallest wage gap of 88 percent while Wyoming has the widest gap of 64 percent. [U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey, Sept. 2009]

See the state-by-state chart below for more detailed information.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey, Sept. 2009.