Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Statement on Equal Pay Day
Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick released the following statement marking Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year:
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick released the following statement marking Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned the previous year:
“Tomorrow is Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes the number of extra days a typical woman who works full time, year-round must work into 2022 to be paid what a typical man was paid in 2021. Women are still only paid 83 cents for every dollar paid to a man, a yearly pay difference of $13,551. The wages that women lose due to the gender wage gap could pay for nearly two years of food, 17 months of child care, more than a year of tuition and fees for a four-year public university, more than 1 year of rent, more than 9 months of employer-based health insurance premiums, or enough money to pay off student loan debt in under three years.
“In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic caused unprecedented health and caregiving needs, losses in employment, and cutbacks in work hours that disproportionately impacted women, with some of the most acute drops among Latina, Black, and AANHPI women. As a result, more than 33 million women workers are not counted in the full-time wage gap. Even before the pandemic, the full-time wage gap left out more than 28 million women who worked part-time or spent part of the year out of work.
“When taking into consideration all workers, not just those who work full-time, year-round, women are paid just 73 cents for every dollar paid to a man. That's 75 cents for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women, 58 cents for Black women, 50 cents for Native women, and 49 cents for Latina women.
“Mothers, families and the country cannot afford discrimination and lower wages: 70 percent of mothers will be the primary earner at some point in their first 18 years of motherhood and can’t afford to lose income.”
###