Congressman John D. Dingell

April 22, 2008

Washington, DC - Today, we mark a disparity between men and women in the work place. It has taken 113 days into 2008 for the wages of American women to “catch up” to what men earned in 2007. This week, the Senate is scheduled to take up H.R. 2831, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which if passed and signed by the President will restore a basic protection against pay discrimination, by rectifying the May 2007 Ledbetter v Goodyear Supreme Court decision that overturned precedent and made it much more difficult for workers to pursue pay discrimination claims.  A co-sponsor of the Women’s Equality Amendment, Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) made the following remarks:

“In 2006, women earned 77 cents to the dollar earned by a man. We know that it is not because the work women do is only three-quarters of the quality of that done by a man. We know that women work equally as hard as men, so why the discrepancy in pay? How do we continue to justify this gender gap? I’d love to believe that the invisible hand of the free market will work it out, but try telling that to the mothers, the women trying to pay off college debt, or those struggling during this troubled economy. There are real people who need a real hand to move this process along. Passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Act and H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963, will make a big difference. It is my sincere hope that the Senate is able to move forward with this critically important legislation and doing it during this the week of Equal Pay Day would be a fitting recognition how far we have yet to go on this matter.

“I’m sorry to say that my home state of Michigan has one of the largest earning gaps between college educated men and college educated women.  College-educated women in Michigan earn just 70 percent of what college-educated men earn, making the state 47th in the nation in terms of pay equity – that according to the American Association of University Women. I know that Michigan is home to some of the most talented, skilled women on that planet. It is time that they get paid in a way that reflects those abilities.”