On Equal Pay Day, Duckworth, Durbin Join Senate Democrats in Reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act to Help End Wage Discrimination, Close Gender Pay Gap

[WASHINGTON, DC] – On Equal Pay Day yesterday, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) along with the entire Senate Democratic caucus in reintroducing thePaycheck Fairness Act,legislation to combat pay discrimination and help close the gender pay gap by strengthening theEqual Pay Act of 1963, ending the practice of pay secrecy and strengthening available remedies to help ensure wronged employees can challenge pay discrimination and hold employers accountable. U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) led the reintroduction of thePaycheck Fairness Actin the House.
“Every single day, women across our nation contribute so much to the success of their families, their communities and their country—and yet, women continue to make hundreds of thousands of dollars less over the course of their lifetimes due to pay disparities,”said Senator Duckworth.“When women are held back, our economy is held back. If Donald Trump and Republicans really wanted to make America great, they’d support the Paycheck Fairness Act to help our nation finally ensure equal pay for equal work.”
“More than fifteen years after the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was passed, women are still facing pay inequality.  And for women of color, that pay gap is even wider,”said Senator Durbin.“I’m joining my colleagues in introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act to send a clear message – women should receive equal pay for equal work.”
More than five decades after the passage of theEqual Pay Act of 1963,the gender wage gap still exists—and alarmingly, for the first time in 20 years, the gender pay gap widened in 2023. Across all workers in the United States, women were typically paid 75 cents for every dollar paid to a man in 2023, adding up to a$14,170pay difference in a year. U.S. women overall lost $1.7 trillion in earnings overall in 2023, according to a recent analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families.
ThePaycheck Fairness Actwould help:
The full text of the Paycheck Fairness Act is availableon the Senator’s website.
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