Democrats Rail Against ‘Pay Gap’ During Equal Pay Day Press Conference

At a March 10th press conference, the company discussed the upcoming. “Equal Pay Day,” Democrats lamented the disparity between women’s and men’s wages.

Hakeem Jeffries (D.NY. House Minority Leader) was flanked by former and current female congressional leaders like Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as well as former Speaker of Congress Nancy Pelosi. The press conference was used by the lawmakers to make disputed claims regarding pay disparities between men and women working in the same job. They also called for passage of their party’s legislation. “Paycheck Fairness Act.”

Jeffries stated in his opening remarks that there has been a wage disparity between men and women in America. “for far too long.”

Jeffries stated that it was “unfair,” “unconscionable,” “un-American … that women in America are paid approximately 73 cents for every dollar that a man makes for doing the same exact job.”

Jeffries commented, and Pelosi followed Jeffries’ lead. “I think in the future people will look back and say, ‘What are you telling me? There was a time when women didn’t have the right to vote? There was a time when women’s work was not respected? This is awful.'”

“It’d be shameful,” Pelosi added. “But we have to do something about it now.”

These comments were a rare public appearance by the former speaker who has largely stayed out of the spotlight since he left the top Democrat post.

“Today we’re going to talk about something that quite frankly, we are so tired of talking about year after year,” At the top of the press conference, Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla. “And that is that is Equal Pay Day.”

Equal Pay Day, March 14th, is observed by its supporters. It marks the day when women are paid the same as their male counterparts in the previous year. It is also the day that average female earnings surpass average male earnings from the previous year.

“In other words, this year, women had to work an additional 64 days just to earn what a man earned last year,” Frankel stated.

‘Paycheck Fairness Act’

Democrats used the press conference as a way to pressure for passage and consideration of the “Paycheck Fairness Act.”

This bill, originally proposed in 1990 by Democrats, would amend Fair Labor Standards Act to make it criminal for employers to retaliate towards employees who request or receive information about pay from their peers. It would make employers responsible for explaining why one worker earns less than another and allow workers to sue for wage discrimination based upon sex.

The bill is specifically targeted. “punishes employers for retaliating against workers who share wage information, puts the justification burden on employers as to why someone is paid less and allows workers to sue for punitive damages of wage discrimination.”

Katherine Clark, House Minority Whip (D-Mass. Frankel took the podium, and Clark used it to push for the passage of legislation in a GOP-controlled House of Representatives.

“Our daughters deserve … a future grounded in freedom and equality,” Clark said. “And let’s be clear we have a long way to go.”

Employers can discriminate against women to earn earnings purposes under U.S. law.

President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963. “No employer … shall discriminate … between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs.”

Employers who pay women less than their male counterparts are already guilty of a federal offense.

The 1963 bill has key exceptions. Employers are allowed to pay men less than women in an objectively delineated system that includes seniority, merit and productive capacity.

“It’s time to send the Paycheck Fairness Act to President [Joe] Biden’s desk,” Clark ended her remarks.

Criticism of ‘Wage Gap’ Claims

Democrats have always claimed that women make less than men. Critics of this claim say it is true, but without the context.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2022 report, women earned between 10-20% less on average than their male counterparts in second quarter 2022 (BLS).PDF).

“The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity,” According to the BLS report. “White women earned 83.0 percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with 90.0 percent for Black women, 81.5 percent for Asian women, and 86.5 percent for Hispanic women.”

Critics of the alleged gap in pay argue that the claimants leave out important facts about why it exists.

Men are more likely to accept dangerous jobs such as high-rise construction and deep-sea oil refinery, which are some of the most dangerous in the world. They often earn a lot more than jobs that do not require college-level skills and training because of the inherent dangers they present.

Additionally, mothers tend to be more flexible in taking time off from work to care for their children. This makes it easier for men to gain more experience than women.

Critics claim that women who have the same education, training and experience as men actually do the same thing.

Yet, the question of gender pay disparities remains one the most contested social issues in modern times.

The passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act (which was introduced for the first time in 1997) would require the consent of Kevin McCarthy (R.Calif.), Speaker of the House, who has almost unilateral authority over the content of what is brought to the floor.

Although the House passed the bill several times, it has not been adopted by the Senate. There, Republicans have greater power to block legislation.

The bill has failed repeatedly in the past so it is unlikely that Democrats can move forward on the contested issue during the current Congress.