[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 55 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 55
Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages
paid to Latina women in comparison to men.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 21, 2021
Ms. Leger Fernandez (for herself, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Velazquez, Mr.
Gallego, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mrs.
Trahan, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms. Adams, Ms. Escobar, Mr.
Nadler, Mr. Grijalva, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Garcia
of Texas, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Lieu, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Speier, Ms.
Brownley, Mr. Welch, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Jacobs
of California, Ms. Newman, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Vicente
Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Castro of Texas,
Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Norcross, Mr. Levin of California, Mr. Garcia of
Illinois, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Raskin, Mrs. Torres of
California, Ms. Dean, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms.
DelBene, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Chu, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Jones,
Ms. Bass, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. Omar, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Clarke
of New York, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Lee of California, Ms. Williams of
Georgia, Mr. Cuellar, Ms. Strickland, Ms. Meng, Mr. Green of Texas, Ms.
Wilson of Florida, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Evans, Mr. Costa, Mr. Johnson of
Georgia, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Pressley, Ms.
Matsui, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. Bonamici,
Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Gomez, Ms.
Ross, Mr. Soto, Mr. Kahele, Mr. Vela, Mr. Carbajal, Ms. McCollum, Ms.
Titus, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Correa, and Ms. Stansbury) submitted the
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages
paid to Latina women in comparison to men.
Whereas October 21, 2021, is ``Latina Equal Pay Day'', which marks the day that
symbolizes how long into 2021 Latina women, on average, must work to
make what White, non-Hispanic men were paid in 2020;
Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
206(d)(1)) prohibits discrimination in wages on the basis of sex for
equal work;
Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.)
prohibits discrimination in compensation because of race, color,
religion, national origin, or sex;
Whereas, despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. 206 note)
more than five decades ago, which establishes that employers shall not
discriminate in wages on the basis of sex, but shall provide equal pay
for equal work, Census Bureau data shows that Latina women working full-
time, year-round are typically paid 57 cents for every dollar paid to
White, non-Hispanic men;
Whereas as a study conducted in 2019 found that on average, Latina women lose
over $1,100,000 in potential earnings over their lifetime to the wage
gap;
Whereas the median annual pay for a Latina woman in the United States working
full-time, year-round was $38,718 in 2020, placing a working mother with
two children near poverty;
Whereas job loss during the pandemic distorted measurements of average wages as
women with lower earnings in sectors such as leisure, hospitality, and
retail were more likely to experience job loss and leave the labor
force;
Whereas the Latina unemployment rate peaked at 20.1 percent in April 2020, and
the Latina civilian labor force participation rate fell from a high of
59.2 percent in October 2019 to 57 percent in September 2020;
Whereas lost wages mean Latina women have less money to support themselves and
their families, save and invest for the future, and spend on goods and
services;
Whereas 51 percent of Latinas are unable to earn sick days through their jobs;
Whereas more than half of Latina low-wage earners report that they spent most or
all of their savings during the pandemic, and 32 percent have no money
left for emergencies, compared to 13 percent of White men;
Whereas the lack of affordable, accessible childcare during the COVID-19
pandemic led 14 percent of Latinas, and 32 percent of immigrant Latinas,
to quit their jobs or reduce their number of work hours to care for
their children;
Whereas the underpayment of Latina workers causes businesses and the economy to
suffer;
Whereas the lack of access to affordable, quality childcare, paid family and
medical leave, and other family friendly workplace policies forces many
Latina women to choose between their paycheck or job and getting quality
care for themselves or their family members, a dynamic that contributes
to the wage gap and has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19
pandemic, especially as Latina women disproportionately work in
essential jobs that put them at greater risk of exposure to COVID-19;
Whereas, if the wage gap were eliminated, on average, a Latina woman working
full-time, year-round would have enough money for approximately 3 years
of childcare, to pay off her student debt in 1 year, or to pay off 19
months of the average mortgage payment;
Whereas 25 to 85 percent of women have been sexually harassed at the workplace,
and research has found that only a small number of those who experience
harassment, or about 1 in 10, formally report incidents for reasons
including lack of access to the complaint process and fear of
retaliation;
Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave their occupation or
industry, as targets of harassment are 6.5 times as likely as nontargets
to change jobs, or pass up opportunities for advancement, and this
contributes to the gender wage gap;
Whereas there is a high personal cost for women who have been sexually harassed,
including unemployment, underemployment, and financial stress resulting
from changing jobs, which lead to long-term consequences for earnings
and career attainment;
Whereas two-thirds of workers paid the minimum wage or less in 2020 were women,
and there is a disproportionate concentration of women of color in low-
wage and tipped jobs;
Whereas the pay disparity Latina women face is part of a wider set of
disparities Latina women face in home ownership, unemployment, poverty,
access to childcare, and the ability to build wealth;
Whereas true pay equity requires a multifaceted strategy that addresses the
gender and racial injustices that Latina women face daily; and
Whereas many national organizations have designated October 21, 2021, as
``Latina Equal Pay Day'' to represent the additional time that Latina
women must work into the next calendar year to receive the earnings of
their White, non-Hispanic counterparts in the prior census year: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Latina women
and its impact on women, families, the economy and our entire
country; and
(2) reaffirms its support for ensuring equal pay and
closing the gender wage gap.
<all>