It takes a woman over three months of additional work to make the equivalent pay of a man. This year, on April 12, we observe Equal Pay Day to mark this disparity and to remind ourselves of the very real consequences of this inequality. And sadly, since mothers, African Americans and Latinos make even less, there are other equal pay benchmarks later in the year. Not only is pay equity about fairness, it’s an economic issue too. As women increasingly take on the role of breadwinner in their households, the gender wage gap puts many families at a disadvantage and our economy suffers as a result. That’s why we must continue the fight for equal pay for equal work. Our families and this state cannot truly succeed unless all workers are paid fairly. While women in the United States and New York State have seen the pay gap narrowed since the 1970s, progress has unfortunately stalled. Currently, women earn 79 cents for every dollar men make on average nationally and 87 cents statewide^1,2. , The wage gap impacts working mothers even more, as it’s estimated that they typically earn 70 cents for every dollar a working father earns.³ Even more egregious is the pay gap for African-American and Latina women, who earn 64 and 54 cents, respectively, for each dollar their white male counterpart earns.⁴ Over a lifetime, this translates to a loss of lifetime earnings of up to $700,000 for a high school graduate and $1.2 million for a college graduate.⁵ This is completely unacceptable. I’ve been fighting to pass a pay equity law that ensures equal pay regardless of gender, race or national origin. While we haven’t achieved that goal yet, the Assembly recently passed new laws that prohibit employers from paying women less than men for comparable work and that protect all workers from retaliation for sharing wage information in the workplace. Another victory is the recently passed minimum wage increase. As women make up two-thirds of minimum wage workers in the national workforce, we must ensure people have jobs that pay them enough to provide for their families.⁶ These are important victories for female workers, but we still have more to do to achieve full wage parity. I will keep fighting for equal pay for equal work, and I encourage you to use Equal Pay Day to reflect on the everyday challenges women face and the inequalities we still must work to overcome. Pay equity is common sense and the right thing to do and is necessary to give all New Yorkers the opportunity to get ahead. ____________________________