Something good may be happening for women all across the U.S. today: the Paycheck Fairness Act is finally reaching the Senate floor today, after years of being stalled. The only problem, though, is whether the bill can actually pass through congress and finally allow women to be paid the same as men.
It probably won't surprise you that I am a big supporter of the proposal (after all, duh, I am a woman!). Though a lot of people talk about "equal work for equal pay", the truth of the matter is that women are still earning 77 cents to the male dollar (Latinas fair even worse, earning only 60 cents to the white male dollar) and I just don't think that's fair. Hence my overwhelming support of the Paycheck Fairness Act.
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Unfortunately, though, the bill has had many ups and downs: it was approved by the House of Representatives in January 2009 but didn't move forward in the Senate in November 2010. Then, President Barack Obama threw his support behind the bill last year and it's FINALLY going back to the Senate for another vote today.
That doesn't mean that we're going to get the vote we deserve, though.
For reasons that I will never truly understand, Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is staying eerily quiet about the bill. According to The Maddow Blog, this is all he has revealed on the issue:
When we asked the Romney campaign for its stance, a spokesperson said the Republican candidate supports the concept of equal pay for equal work, but despite repeated requests, Romney's aide would not say whether he supports or opposes the proposal.
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I'm not sure why Romney is is staying mum the issue, but I'm really glad that Obama is in full support. It's incredibly important to have a president who cares about equality for men and women. I would definitely like to earn 40 more cents per dollar and, to be honest, make sure that my future daughters are treated fairly, too.
What do you think about the Paycheck Fairness Act going to the Senate floor today? Are you hoping that the bill will pass through? Share with us in the comments below!
Image via pattie74_99/flickr
