Watch the video of Senator Gillibrand’s remarks here.
Washington, D.C. – Senator Kirsten Gillibrand gave the following remarks today about the gender pay gap and the importance of passing the Paycheck Fairness Act:
“Equal pay is fundamental to our country, to our economy and to our ability to reach our full potential as a nation. When women are earning less than their full potential, when they’re earning 78 cents on the dollar, or 68 cents on the dollar, or 53 cents on the dollar. What it means is families are taking home less income that’s necessary to raise their kids, and for 40% of American households, women are primary or sole wage earners.
“Most of our laws and most of our protections were really set in the Mad Men era- when dad went to work and mom stayed at home. We’ll that is just not a reflection of today’s workplace.
“Today, 8 out 10 moms are working. This is going to overwhelmingly effect the majority of American families. We should have equal pay for equal work. If we did, we would raise the U.S. GDP by up to 4%. There is no greater economic engine than just allowing women to earn what they should for the work that they’re doing.
“It’s really fundamental, it goes to our core American values and every candidate running for President, I hope will be supporting equal pay for equal work, and every candidate in Congress should be supporting equal pay for equal work.
Thank you.”