ProgressOhio

MomsRising.org concludes women -- especially moms and minorities -- are disproportionately underpaid:

Earlier this week the headline on the front page of the New York Times declared, "Women Are Now Equal as Victims of Poor Economy."  "Equal"?  Really?

While it's true that both men and women are suffering in this economic downturn, women still bear the lion's share of the burden. Women in the U.S. are still paid only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men -- mothers only 73 cents, and single mothers about 60 cents.

For women of color, the numbers are even worse -- African-American women earn 63 cents and Latina women earn 52 cents for every dollar paid to white men. With numbers like these, it's easy to see why protection from wage and other job discrimination is a critical component of economic security for women and families, especially in times of economic downturn.

Tell your Senators to support the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act now! http://www.momsrising.org/FairPay_Yes

This Act, which provides job discrimination protections, has already passed the U.S. House, nearly passed the U.S. Senate--but is currently stalled.  Your voice is needed to get the bill moving forward again and to remind the Senate that the women of America are waiting for their vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and that this is the only bill that would fully restore women's civil rights.

Forward this email to your friends and family so they can contact their U.S. Senators too. The more people the Senators hear from, the more likely they are to pass this bill in the Senate.

More About the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: Lilly Ledbetter, a manager at Goodyear Tires, endured pay discrimination (and thus the loss of significant wages) during her 19 years of employment--just for being a woman.  She won a substantial settlement in a lower court and then the the Supreme Court ruled against Ledbetter, saying that pay discrimination claims must be made within 180 days after the pay is initially set. This effectively guts the ability to hold employers accountable when they pay women less than men--even if the discrimination continues for years.

Most people don't know how much their coworkers make, and so would have no way of discovering pay discrimination in time to meet this new requirement.  The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would fix this Supreme Court decision and restore the right of women and minorities to recover lost wages due to discrimination, as originally protected by the Civil Rights Act.