Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of President John Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act. It was hoped at that time that by now the women of America would be enjoying pay equal to that of men. Unfortunately that has not happened. Women still get an average of $0.77 for every dollar earned by men -- an inexcusable and shameful statistic for the 21st Century (especially in a country that touts its belief in equality).Here is what Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has to say about this:
President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act 50 years ago.
President Kennedy called the Equal Pay Act "a first step" to ending the widespread practice of paying women less than men for the same amount of work. And that's exactly what it was: a first step.
50 years later, we're still fighting this fight, and women STILL make 23 cents less on the dollar. House Democrats have proposed a solution -- the Paycheck Fairness Act -- but Republicans voted to block this legislation from even coming to a vote. That's unacceptable.
Our daughters and granddaughters should know that they'll enter the workforce as equals to their male counterparts. But it's going to take a real effort to get this done.
This problem can be solved, but only if the House Republicans are voted out of power in the next election. This is just one reason among many to vote Democratic in the 2014 election.
NOTE -- The young lady pictured above with President Kennedy is Nancy Pelosi, when she was a student at Trinity College.
