Quick Signature: Support Moms on Moms’ Equal Pay Day SIGN NOW

Dear Friend,

Today is Moms’ Equal Pay Day, the day we use to shed light on the persistent wage gap experienced by mothers in the workplace. On average, moms earn just 62 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic dads [1]. Of course, the averages alone don’t tell the whole story because, due to structural racism, moms of color face much larger wage gaps when compared separately. Meanwhile, Mother’s Day is right around the corner. Moms should be basking in the recognition and celebration they deserve, but instead we’re getting short changed. LITERALLY! This is unacceptable and we will not stand for it!

But there is hope: We know how to close the wage gap and you can help!

In addition to supporting policy solutions like the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would modernize and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to better combat pay discrimination and close the wage gap, we also need Congress to employ every tool available to them to defend and restore the critical missions of our federal civil rights and enforcement agencies. Federal agencies like the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were established to protect and support the rights of parents and caregivers in the workplace. But the Trump administration is taking unprecedented actions to fire officials at independent civil rights agencies, lay off hundreds of staff in offices, and undermine enforcement of existing protections. [2] 

We urge Congress to use all of the tools at its disposal to restore and defend the critical missions of these agencies.

These agencies oversee and enforce critical civil rights protections for America's workers, including moms and parents. They offer protections like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers and protect them from being discriminated against, respectively. [3] But they also grant workers the rights to collective bargaining and unionization. These crucial rights and protections are under fire! Moms deserve better.

That is why we need Congress to support the Paycheck Fairness Act and fight back against the threats to our federal civil rights and enforcement agencies!

This fight is about more than cents on the dollar. In addition to key protections being threatened, moms are being consistently short changed to the tune of more than a MILLION DOLLARS over the course of a 40 year career! [4] That impacts how much we can invest in our local economy, our children’s future, and our future. 

This is a big deal. Overall, moms across all races and ethnicities are currently paid just 62 cents for every dollar paid to dads. But that doesn’t tell the full story, because for many moms that wage gap is way worse than 62 cents to the dollar. Latina moms make just 43 cents, Indigenous American moms just 48 cents, Black moms just 49 cents, White moms just 62 cents, and AAPI moms just 75 cents compared to White, non-Hispanic dads. (Although if you further disaggregate the data for AAPI moms, many AAPI communities make far less). [5]

Tell Congress to support the Paycheck Fairness Act and fight back against the threats to our federal civil rights and enforcement agencies!

Moms and their families need better workplace protections and fully functional federal civil rights and enforcement agencies – and businesses and our economy need this too. Equal pay is a win-win-win.

Thank you for joining us in this fight!

– Taylor, Ruth, Kristin, and the whole MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

P.S.– Have you or someone you love faced workplace discrimination or unfair pay? Sharing personal stories with our lawmakers is a powerful tool in the fight against discriminatory wage gaps! Make a video about your experience! 

Not comfortable on camera? Tell us about your wage discrimination experience here!

***Please also take a moment to forward this email to friends and family! Post the action link on Facebook and X to spread the word. The more of us who take action, the better chance we have of making this the last #MomsEqualPayDay!

References:
[1] American Association of University Women: Equal Pay Day Calendar
[2] Equal Pay Today: Moms' Equal Pay Day 
[3] The 19th*: How Trump wants to reshape the NLRB and EEOC labor boards
[4][5] Institute for Women’s Policy Research: The Parenthood Pay Divide: Why Mothers Earn Less Than Fathers in the US

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