Senate blocks Paycheck Fairness Act

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

Senate Republicans have unanimously blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have made it easier for employees to hold their employers accountable for pay disparities between men and women.

At this point, we all know the facts: Working women make 77¢ for every dollar a man makes, and the numbers haven’t changed much in the past ten years. The pay gap is a problem for young workers as well as older ones.

The Paycheck Fairness Act alone wouldn’t have solved the pay gap; there are other economic factors at play as well, like

• Our country’s failure to legally require employers to provide paid maternity, family, or sick leave
• A lack of affordable childcare for working moms
• A minimum wage that doesn’t provide for anywhere near a family’s needs
• Workplace gender rules that relegate women to lower-paying fields
• A general attitude in the American workplace that women who take time for family are less committed to their jobs

That’s why paycheck fairness is just one facet of the Women’s Economic Agenda, which enjoys broad support among both men and women, but has been shown to particularly energize unmarried women to show up to the polls.

With the 2014 midterm elections less than two months away, those who support this agenda have an opportunity to make their case to the American people—but in order to see the Women’s Economic Agenda enacted, the people have to register to vote and then go to the polls for candidates who stand in favor of women.

The Senate Republicans have shown us where they stand; let’s show them where we stand in November by voting for candidates who support the Women’s Economic Agenda.