Equal Pay Act Turns 50

Fifty years ago yesterday, the Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy, but the gender wage gap still stands. A half century after the 1963 bill, women still earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, and that gap shows no signs of closing any time soon. When the bill went into effect, women made 60 cents on the dollar compared to men, but the wage gap narrowed throughout the 70's, 80's, and 90's. However, since 2001, the wage gap has only closed one point, and actually widened again starting in 2011. According to the Think Progress Blog, the remaining pay gap exists regardless of education level, and the Government Accountability Office found it has nothing to do with job tenure, industry, work pattern, race or marital status. Democrats in Congress attempted to close the wage gap with the Paycheck Fairness Act, but Republicans have voted against it multiple times. Simply put, there is no justifiable reason that women continue to earn less than men for equivalent work, and no reason besides sexism that Republicans continue to block equal pay for equal work.