Equal Pay Day = Equal Pay for Equal Work

The pay gap between men and women is -- on average -- 20 percent lower, even after forty-eight years since President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis addressed the issue on Equal Pay Day.

(Photo listed above: President Kennedy signs the 1963 Equal Pay Act into law as Business and Professional Women/USA (BPW) president Dr. Minnie Miles (second from right) and members of the BPW look on.)

Here is the transcript.

Greeting everyone: This is your friend and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.

Today we recognize Equal Pay Day. And here's an important fact about equal pay.

It actually takes a woman one year, three months, and twelve days to earn what a man earns in a year.

There's no question: Women have and continue to make extraordinary contributions to the prosperity of our country. Women continue to go above and beyond in jobs that once upon a time were reserved only for men. Yet men continue to earn more. We must close the pay gap. So today we highlight the pressing need for EQUAL PAY.

When people walk into my office, one of the first things they see is a picture of John F. Kennedy. I look up to him, because he was committed to making our country a more just place for all Americans -- particularly for women. Forty-eight years ago, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. It's a law that promised women equal pay for equal work. Nearly five decades later, we've narrowed that pay gap, but not nearly enough...

In fact, in the past ten years, the gap has changed very little. Today, women are paid on average, only 80 cents for every dollar paid to men. That's about 70 cents for Black women and about 60 cents for Latinas. But while the pay gap may seem like 20 cents, the actual cost is much higher. You see, every time a woman starts at a new job, every time a woman asks for a raise, she is doing so from a lower base salary. And over time, that gap - "the pay gap" -- becomes wider and wider. The proof is in the numbers. When we look at what a woman loses in earnings -- from the start of her career to the end of it -- we see that, over a lifetime -- she stands to lose nearly $360,000. The REAL COST of a twenty cent pay gap is actually a lifetime of slipping deeper and deeper into the red -- whether you're white, black or Latina... whether you're a waitress, a doctor or an executive -- In the end, we are all losing.

The average working woman, that "twenty cent pay gap" is $150 less in your weekly paycheck. It's nearly $8,000 less at the end of the year. This problem doesn't just affect women -- it affects families, too. Its 20 percent less food you can put on your table. Its 20 percent less to spend on your kids' education. It's 20 percent less gas in the car.

The bottom line: When Women start at a disadvantage, we stay at a disadvantage.

President Obama and I are committed to closing the pay gap once and for all. That's why we've spent the past two years protecting women in the workforce by:

• Fixing Bad Policies;
• Leveling the Playing Field for employers that do play by the rules;
• Cracking down on those who DO NOT;
• and Creating opportunities for workplace flexibility -- so women can make choices to provide for their families without being penalized for it.

We've met with experts and listened to employers, advocates, workers and community leaders, who have told us what works and what doesn't. And, last year, Congress was just two votes shy of passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. This law would have closed the loopholes in the Equal Pay Act. And it would have prohibited employers from retaliating against women for talking about what they earn -- because let's be honest, we're never going to fix the problem if we can't even talk about it.

There's no doubt: We've made incredible progress. But we still have a long way to go. In the last fifty years, we've narrowed the pay gap considerably. But, President Obama and I are committed to closing it once and for all. We remain committed to transforming President Kennedy's promise into a reality. And together we will make this nation a more equitable place for everyone.

See the related video:

http://www.dol.gov/dol/media/webcast/20110411-equalpay/