“Honoring ‘Equal Pay Day’: Examining the Long-Term Economic Impacts of Gender Inequality”

Chairwoman Maloney's Opening Statement [PDF]

On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, at 9:30 a.m., Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hybrid hearing in honor of “Equal Pay Day” to examine the economic harm caused by longstanding gender inequalities, particularly for women of color. 

Historically, systemic inequities, including the gender pay gap, have impeded economic equality between genders in the United States.  Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, women bore a disproportionate burden of care work, held a majority of low-wage jobs, and were more likely than men to be forced out of employment.  

Women of color have been and continue to be disproportionately harmed by longstanding gender inequities, including the gender pay gap. For example, whereas women on average earn 82 cents for every dollar paid to white men, Black women are paid only 63 cents for every dollar paid to white men, and Latinas are paid only 55 cents for every dollar paid to white men.

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these persistent inequities.  Since February 2020, women have experienced a net loss of more than 5.4 million jobs—55% of the United States’ overall net job loss since the start of the coronavirus crisis.  Women of color have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s impact, as they have experienced its compounded harms on both women and on communities of color.  These harms aggravate longstanding economic discrimination and other barriers to economic equality, and raise concerns that women may be forced out of the workplace permanently.

This hearing will review reforms to promote an equitable and inclusive economic recovery for women across the United States and evaluate how enacting comprehensive feminist reforms—such as the Paycheck Fairness Act, the Child Care for Working Families Act, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and other vital measures—would help to ensure full economic inclusion and equity for women as part of the country’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis.