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Women in Texas Still Earn Only 79 Cents for Every Dollar Earned by Men

April 9, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. During Equal Pay Day on April 8, Rep. Marc Veasey, TX-33, said that more needs to be done to close the wage gap that still exists between women and men – including passage of the critical Paycheck Fairness Act. National Equal Pay Day symbolizes the point at which, more than three months into the year, women's wages finally catch up to what men were paid in the previous year.

"Fifty-one years after the Equal Pay Act was passed, U.S. women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar earned by men," Rep. Veasey pointed out. "Ensuring that women earn equal pay for equal work is essential to improving the economic security of our families and the growth of our middle class and our economy."

According to a report from the American Association of University Women, a woman in Texas who holds a full-time job is paid, on average, $35,453 per year while a man who holds a full-time job is paid $44,802 per year. This means that women in Texas are paid 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. Nationally, full-time working women earn 77 cents, on average, for every dollar paid to men. For women of color, the wage gap is larger. [AAUW fact sheet on the pay gap for your state, which includes district-by-district information].

"Equal pay is not simply a women's issue – it's a family issue," Rep. Veasey added. "Families increasingly rely on women's wages to make ends meet. When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less to save for retirement, invest in our economy and for the everyday needs of their families – groceries, rent, child care, and doctors' visits."

All House Democrats are cosponsors of the Paycheck Fairness Act – a bill to ensure American women receive equal pay for equal work – a key pillar of House Democrats' When Women Succeed, America Succeeds: An Economic Agenda for Women and Families. The bill strengthens and closes loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act and provides effective remedies to women who are not being paid equal pay for equal work. 197 House Democrats have signed a discharge petition to try and force the GOP Leaders to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

"Today, President Obama took a meaningful step toward closing the wage gap by signing two executive orders on pay equality. Before we close this week, I hope that we will see some Senate Republicans work with Democrats to get the 60 votes needed to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act in the Senate, which would extend protections to all women workers," concluded Rep. Veasey. "To strengthen the American family and ensure fairness in the workplace, we must all work together until we have achieved an America where women are paid equally for equal work."