77 Cents on the Dollar Is Not Enough

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-01-29 10:38:00 UTC
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Seems like we still can't get the concept of equal work, equal pay down.

A year ago today, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. While this was an important step for restoring women's protections against pay discrimination, it's not enough. We still need to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which tripped through the House alongside the Fair Pay Act, then got stuck in the Senate.

As Roxann has posted previously, "Ledbetter gave women the ability to challenge discrimination; the next logical step was to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, a law designed to prevent it from happening in the first place." The Paycheck Fairness Act would put the onus on employers to demonstrate that any significant wage gaps were based on factors unrelated to sex, which could make significant inroads toward narrowing the 33 cent gap on the dollar between what men and women are paid.

The bill further requires courts to provide the same remedies for sex discrimination as they would for workers cheated out of a fair wage due to race or national original. And it lets employers know that taking revenge against an employee (or, in their mindset, "rabble-rouser") who makes wage inquiries to hold them accountable for paying everybody what they deserve.

No doubt this concept of equal pay for equal work is still seen a very controversial in the (very male) Senate. And it doesn't help that the Supreme Court just last week gave corporations free reign to buy as many politicians as they can afford. Well, tough. Send your senator a message that you're the one who votes him in or out, and you want paycheck fairness now.

Photo credit: Joshua Davis

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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