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The Paycheck Fairness Act is a positive step forward

LYSA HOLLAND

Boalsburg

On April 15, The Paycheck Fairness Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a 217-210 vote. Unfortunately, U.S. Reps. Fred Keller and Glenn Thompson cast “no” votes.

Aimed at eliminating the gender pay gap and strengthening workplace protections for women, the legislation would bolster the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which has helped to even the playing field, but still leaves far too many women in both private sector and government jobs earning significantly lower pay than men for equal work.

Women have been hardest hit by pandemic job losses–losing nearly 1 million more jobs than men. Couple that with the decrease in women’s participation in the workforce due to a severe child-care shortage, and it’s plain to see that systemic inequalities have left women financially insecure.

Currently, women in the U.S., on average, are paid just $0.82 for every dollar paid to men. In 2021, this is unconscionable to me, especially as a woman who has been employed in a typically male profession.

The implications of this are far-reaching–and cumulative–for both men and women. We need a gender equitable recovery–and The Paycheck Fairness Act is a positive step forward.

Voters, especially women, deserve to hear why Representatives Keller and Thompson voted NO on this important, and long overdue, legislation.

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