[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 42 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 42
Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages
paid to men and to Black women.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2025
Ms. Adams (for herself, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Lois Frankel of
Florida, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Salinas, Mr. Lynch, Mrs.
Foushee, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Jackson
of Illinois, Ms. Omar, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. Bishop, Ms.
DelBene, Ms. McClellan, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Thompson of
Mississippi, Mr. Swalwell, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Norton,
Mr. Fields, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Moore
of Wisconsin, Mr. Frost, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Tlaib, Mr.
Thanedar, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Jayapal, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Smith
of Washington, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr.
Carson, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Amo, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Quigley, Ms.
Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Thompson of
California, Ms. Brown, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms.
Scholten, Ms. Chu, Mr. Bell, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Hoyer, Mr.
Figures, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. McCollum, Ms.
Titus, Ms. Dexter, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Lee of
Pennsylvania, Ms. Budzinski, Ms. Ross, and Mr. DeSaulnier) submitted
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages
paid to men and to Black women.
Whereas July 10, 2025, is Black Women's Equal Pay Day, a day of observance of
the wage gap between working Black women and working White, non-Hispanic
men;
Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d))
(commonly known as the ``Equal Pay Act of 1963'') prohibits
discrimination in compensation for equal work on the basis of sex;
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 6 decades ago, which
requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for
equal work, data from the Bureau of the Census show that Black women
working full-time and year-round are paid 66 cents for every dollar paid
to White, non-Hispanic men;
Whereas, when part-time and part-year workers are included in the comparison,
Black women are paid 64 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-
Hispanic men;
Whereas, if the current trends continue, on average, Black women will have to
wait over 200 years to achieve equal pay;
Whereas the median annual pay for a Black woman in the United States working
full-time, year-round, is $50,390, which means that, if the current wage
gap were to continue, the average Black woman would lose nearly
$1,019,200 in potential earnings because of the wage gap over the course
of a 40-year career;
Whereas lost wages mean Black women have less money to support themselves and
their families, to save and invest for the future, and to spend on goods
and services, causing businesses and the economy to suffer as a result;
Whereas the median earnings of Black women are less than the median earnings of
men at every level of academic achievement, and in leadership and
professional positions;
Whereas Black women with bachelor's and master's degrees experience a larger
wage gap in comparison to White, non-Hispanic men than Black women with
a high school diploma;
Whereas, in the United States, more than 69 percent of Black mothers are the
sole or primary breadwinners for their families, compared to slightly
more than one-third of one percent of non-Hispanic White mothers;
Whereas the lack of access to affordable, quality childcare, paid family and
medical leave, paid sick leave, and other family-friendly workplace
policies contributes to the wage gap by forcing many Black women to
choose between their paycheck or job and getting quality care for
themselves or their family members;
Whereas if the wage gap were eliminated, on average, a Black woman working full-
time would have enough money for over 2 additional years of tuition and
fees for a 4-year public university, the full cost of tuition and fees
for a public 2-year community college, more than 49 additional months of
premiums for employer-based family health insurance coverage with
employer contributions, over 58 weeks of food for a family of 4, more
than 13 additional months of home ownership costs, including mortgage
payments, real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, and fuel costs, 17
more months of rental costs, including rent payments, utilities, and
fuel, almost a full year of child care for 2 children, or enough money
to pay off an average borrower's Federal student loan debt in under 2
years;
Whereas Black women face dual and compounding discrimination based upon both
their race and gender;
Whereas at least 38 percent of women have been sexually harassed at the
workplace and over 78 percent of sexual harassment charges filed with
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are filed by women, yet the
prevalence of sexual harassment is likely much higher, as research has
found that only a small number of women who experience harassment
formally report incidents for reasons including fear of retaliation;
Whereas workplace harassment forces many women to leave their occupation or
industry;
Whereas individuals who are targets of harassment are 6.5 times as likely as
individuals who are not targets of harassment to change jobs or pass up
opportunities for advancement, contributing to the gender wage gap;
Whereas Black women are the most likely of all racial and ethnic groups to have
filed a sexual harassment charge;
Whereas nearly two-thirds of workers paid the minimum wage or less are women,
and there is an over-representation of women of color in low-wage and
tipped occupations;
Whereas 60 percent of private sector workers reported that they were either
discouraged or prohibited by their employers from discussing wage and
salary information, which can hide pay discrimination and prevent
remedies;
Whereas the pay disparity faced by Black women is part of a wider set of
disparities faced by Black women in home ownership, unemployment,
poverty, access to childcare, and the ability to accumulate wealth;
Whereas the gender wage gap for Black women has narrowed by only 5 cents in the
last 2 decades;
Whereas true pay equity requires a multifaceted strategy that addresses the
gendered and racial injustices that Black women face daily; and
Whereas many national organizations have designated July 10, 2025, as Black
Women's Equal Pay Day to recognize the persistent and detrimental wage
gap Black women face: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the disparity in wages paid to Black women
and its impact on women, families, and the United States; and
(2) reaffirms its support for ensuring equal pay for equal
work and narrowing the gender wage gap.
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