119-hconres42

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 42 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

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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