McCaskill Renews Effort to Ensure Women Get Equal Pay for Equal Work

On the 4th anniversary of the landmark Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which protected the legal rights of women who faced pay discrimination, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is renewing her effort to ensure working women earn the same pay as their male counterparts, joining in the reintroduction of the Paycheck Fairness Act – legislation to help close the pay gap between men and women. “I’ll keep waging this fight until women are no longer expected to accept this inexcusable pay gap as a fact of life,” McCaskill said. “As a single working mom, I found out firsthand the challenges women in the workforce, and I’m determined not to leave this fight for my daughters to finish, but to solve it now.” McCaskill supported the same legislation last year, but the bill failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to advance. Women make up nearly half of Missouri’s workforce, but earn only 74 cents for every dollar paid to men in the state.

McCaskill: Equal Pay for Equal Work is ‘just common sense’

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today released the following statement after voting in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act—This legislation would level the playing field for female workers by seeking to ensure women get the same pay as men for equal work:

“As I keep working to boost job opportunities in Missouri, it’s just common sense that we ensure women are getting equal pay for equal work. This is a battle that my mom had to fight, it’s a challenge I had to confront as a single working mom—and now, we’re faced with the idea that this is something my daughters will have to contend with. Many families are fighting to get by in this tough economy, with moms contributing as the sole breadwinner or a significant contributor to their households, and it is a disservice to those families when – because mom gets paid less than her male colleagues – they have less money that can go toward filling the tank, buying groceries, and setting money aside to help put their kids through college, which is why it’s so critical to get this measure signed into law”

Despite McCaskill’s support, today’s vote failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to advance the legislation.

Women make up nearly half of Missouri’s workforce, but earn only 74 cents for every dollar paid to men in the state. The Paycheck Fairness Act would help close the pay gap between women and men.