Doug Jones co-sponsors legislation to ensure equal pay for women
Newly elected U.S. Sen. Doug Jones is calling for an equal pay law. On Tuesday, the Democrat announced he will co-sponsor legislation designed to address the pay gap between men and women. S.819: The Paycheck Fairness Act, would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and guarantee that women can challenge pay discrimination and hold employers accountable. “Despite making up half the workforce, American women still routinely face obstacles to receiving the pay and benefits they’ve earned,” said Jones. “We have a duty to make sure that women are compensated fairly for the jobs they do. I’m proud to co-sponsor the Paycheck Fairness Act and I look forward to working with my colleagues to see this common-sense legislation passed.” According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), five decades after the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women continue make an average of 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The pay gap is even wider for women of color, with African American women making 63 cents on the dollar, and Hispanic women making only 54 cents, on average, compared with white men. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen and close loopholes in the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by holding employers accountable for discriminatory practices, subject to the same remedies as discrimination based on race or national origin. The bill endeavors to end the practice of pay secrecy by easing workers’ ability to individually or jointly challenge pay discrimination, and strengthening the available remedies for wronged employees.
Alabama women earn 73 cents for every dollar paid to men, study finds
Alabama’s gender wage gap is one of the worst in the nation with women earning, on average, 73 cents for every dollar paid to men. According to a new report from the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit advocacy group promoting fairness in the workplace, this amounts to an annual wage gap of $12,109, which ranks Alabama as the sixth largest gap in the country. But Alabama is not the only state with a wage gap. In fact, every state and 98 percent of the country’s congressional districts have one — Louisiana’s 35-cent gap is the largest, while New York’s is the smallest, at 13 cents. In the nation’s capital, Washington D.C., the pay gap is just 10 cents. “This analysis is a sobering reminder of the serious harm the wage gap causes women and families all across the country,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership. “At a time when women’s wages are so critical to the economic well-being of families, the country is counting on lawmakers to work together to advance the fair and family friendly workplace policies that would promote equal pay. There is no time to waste.” Alabama’s gender wage gap spans the state — the report shows that a gap persists in all seven of Alabama’s congressional districts. Based on the analysis, if the gap between women’s and men’s wages in Alabama were eliminated, each woman who holds a full-time, year-round job in the state could afford to buy food for 1.9 more years, pay for mortgage and utilities for 11 more months, or pay rent for nearly 17 more months. Basic necessities like these would be particularly important for the 39 percent of Alabama’s woman-headed households currently living below the poverty level. Ness continued: “Some state lawmakers have taken steps to address the issue by passing legislation to combat discriminatory pay practices and provide other workplace supports. It is past time for federal lawmakers to do the same. We need Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which is a common sense proposal that has languished for much too long.”
