DNC on Equal Pay Day

DNC Chair Tom Perez and DNC Women’s Caucus Chair Lottie Shackelford issued the following joint statement on Equal Pay Day – a day that represents how far into the year women have to work to earn as much as their male counterparts made the previous year:

 

“The Democratic Party is proud to champion equal pay for equal work. Democrats believe that women’s economic strength is American economic strength, and that’s why closing the gender pay gap is an issue we should all be fighting for.

 

“While we’ve come a long way since 1970, when women made just 59 cents on the dollar, we still have so much farther to go. Today, the pay gap is still 80 cents on the dollar for women on average, and even wider for women of color. Black women make just 63 cents for every dollar a white man makes, and Hispanic women only make 54 cents.

 

“The Democratic Party is proud to stand in solidarity with women in the workplace, and proud to fight for a level playing field. Working women contribute $7.6 trillion to our GDP each year. In four out of ten American households with children, the mother is either the sole or primary breadwinner. It’s long past time we make sure that women are guaranteed the same pay as men for doing the same work. Women are the core of our party, and we will not rest until all women and all working families receive fair and equal pay, so we can create a stronger America for all.”

 

Here are a few of the many ways Trump has rolled back efforts to close the gender wage gap:

 

Trump celebrated Equal Pay Day last year by overturning an Obama-era paycheck transparency rule aimed to ensure companies were paying women fairly.

 

NBC News: “The other result of Trump's executive order on federal contractors was lifting a mandate on paycheck transparency, or requiring employers to detail earnings, pay scales, salaries, and other details. The Fair Pay order Trump overturned was one of the few ways to ensure companies were paying women workers equally to their male colleagues.”

 

The Trump administration halted a paycheck transparency rule aimed at closing the gender wage gap.

 

Washington Post Wonkblog: “The Trump administration has halted a rule that would have required large companies to report to the government what they pay employees by race and gender — an Obama-era policy that aimed to close what economists call the wage gap. The decision landed Tuesday evening, prompting outrage from groups who note that women and minorities still aren’t receiving equal pay for equal work.”

 

The White House gender pay gap more than tripled under Trump.

 

Washington Post Wonkblog: “White House Gender Pay Gap More Than Triples Under Trump”

 

Trump dismantled workplace protections for women after years of progress under President Obama.

 

Mother Jones: “In One Executive Order, Trump Revoked Years Of Workplace Protections For Women”

 

Axios: “Trump Signs Order That Could Hurt Working Women”

 

Huffington Post: “Trump Is Quietly Making It Even Harder To Report Sexual Harassment And Discrimination”