Apr. 12, 2016

HARRISBURG – In honor of Equal Pay Day in Pennsylvania, Rep. Kathy Watson (R-Bucks/144th) reminded her colleagues in the state House today about the long-term effects of pay inequity.

Watson, who has called for studies into the effectiveness of state laws on pay equity, again reiterated that women’s wages and salaries are still not on par with their male counterparts.

April 12 is observed across the country as National Equal Pay Day, the day in which women’s wages and salaries catch up to their male counterparts. As such, women must work an extra three months in order to earn the same pay as men in their same fields with the same jobs and the same expectations and responsibilities.

According to data released by the Census Bureau in 2015, based on the median earnings of all full-time, year-round workers, women’s earnings were $39,621, while men’s were $50,383. Rounding off the figures shows women’s earnings now at 79 percent of men’s, compared to 78 percent last year. That is a gap of 22 cents.

“The impact of thousands of dollars in lost wages and salaries – all because the worker is a woman is astonishing and incredibly unfair,” Watson said in remarks to her colleagues on the House floor. “Even if the difference in the wage and salary gap is just a few thousand dollars, just think about how that adds up over a career. A typical woman who worked full time, year round would lose $443,360 in a 40-year period due to the wage gap. A woman would have to work almost 12 years longer to make up this difference.”

Watson noted, however, that this year, the gap has decreased ever so slightly – 0.3 percent. To reach full parity, it will take about 50 years to close the gap. When working women make as much as their male counterparts, they’ll be further contributing to our Commonwealth. They will pay more in income taxes, along with sales and use taxes, and ideally, they will be less likely to rely on government programs and services for such items as health insurance or child care.

“Paying women a fair wage or salary for their work is common sense, and I am hopeful that in the near future, we won’t have to mark this date and that women will be paid equivalent to their credentials, their job duties and their experience,” Watson said. “That is why we need to bring greater awareness to this issue and in our jobs as lawmakers, to ensure that the laws we have in place today are appropriate to deal with pay equity issues.”

Representative Kathy Watson
144th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Media Contact: Jennifer Keaton
717.705.2094
jkeaton@pahousegop.com
KathyWatson144.com / Facebook.com/RepWatson

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