R: Realistic & Fair Wages
Living wages for mothers and equal pay for equal work.
Women are now half of the paid labor force in our nation for the first time ever. The labor of working women is increasingly essential to their family’s economic security, and is now also critical to the overall economic health of the United States. However, the public and private policies that affect parenting and the workplace have remained largely unchanged during this massive societal shift. As a result, families are reeling and parents of all socioeconomic backgrounds are struggling to earn enough and keep their families healthy.
The wage gap between mothers and non-mothers is greater than between women and men — and it’s actually getting bigger. Non-mothers earn 10 percent less than their male counterparts; mothers earn 27 percent less; and single mothers earn between 34 percent and 44 percent less. The wage gap is a direct reflection of bias against working mothers. This bias, in part, is because we don’t have family friendly policies to support the needs of working mothers and families like flexible work options, paid family leave, and accessible childcare.
No longer should mothers be making 77 cents to a man’s dollar. No longer should equally qualified women be paid less for the same job as a man. That’s why it’s absolutely essential that we, as a nation, make family economic security issues like pay equity a priority!
Paycheck Fairness Act
The Paycheck Fairness Act is a much needed update of the 46-year-old Equal Pay Act. It’s a comprehensive bill that would create stronger incentives for employers to follow the law, empower women to negotiate for equal pay, and strengthen federal outreach, education, and enforcement efforts. The bill would also deter wage discrimination by strengthening penalties for equal pay violations and by prohibiting retaliation against workers who ask about employers’ wage practices or disclose their own wages.
It's absolutely essential that we, as a nation, address family economic security issues like pay equity front and center. Women are now half of the paid labor force in our nation for the first time ever. The labor of working women is increasingly essential to their family's economic security, and is now also critical to the overall economic health of the United States. However, the public and private policies that affect parenting and the workplace have remained largely unchanged during this massive societal shift. As a result, families are reeling and parents of all socioeconomic backgrounds are struggling to earn enough and keep their families healthy.
Tipped workers need a raise!
Many MomsRising members support their families as tipped restaurant workers and/or were raised by someone on tipped restaurant income. These families have been waiting over 20 years to see an increase in the $2.13 federal tipped minimum wage.
In 1992, twenty years ago, gas cost 95 cents per gallon and milk cost 50 cents. Twenty years ago, the $2.13 per hour federal minimum wage for tipped workers didn’t go very far. Today, $2.13 per hour covers even less. Today, gas can cost a whopping $3.50 per gallon and milk can cost $3.
Since 1992, the money it costs to put a kid through college has tripled. And, in some states, it costs more to put your toddler in childcare than it does to send your teenager to a university. It’s nearly unbelievable that the federal tipped minimum wage hasn’t changed one bit! Times have changed, costs have risen, but the federal minimum wage for tipped workers hasn’t caught up with modern times.
This is a bad situation. And women are bearing the brunt of this problem: 71 percent of restaurant workers are women. As a result, this workforce of mostly women has three times the poverty rate of the rest of the United States workforce, and more than half of all restaurant workers live below the federal poverty line for a family of three.
We can do better!
America’s working families need to be paid a decent wage, so that their families and businesses can thrive, which also helps fuel our struggling economy.
Read a collection of stories from MomsRising members all over the country who are raising families as tipped workers, and/or who were raised by a parent who supporting their family on tipped income.
More Fair Pay Resources
Check out this Blunt Video for Equal Pay Day, which features an appearance by MomsRising staffer Ariana Kelly and her daughter Maeve. Find out what women are saying about the Paycheck Fairness Act, and why it's so important for the Senate to pass it right away!
