Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today released the following statement after the Senate failed to advance the Paycheck Fairness Act. Bennet is an original cosponsor of the bill that would provide women with strengthened tools to negotiate fair wages and establish protections for women who file complaints of gender-based pay discrimination.
“All Americans, regardless of their gender deserve a level of pay that fully reflects their hard work,” Bennet said. “Although we’ve come a long way, it’s not acceptable that women in Colorado earn only 78 cents to every dollar paid to men. The disparity is even worse for minority women where Latinas earn just 53 cents on the dollar compared to men. I remain committed to fighting to ensure equal pay for equal work. My daughters and women everywhere deserve nothing less.”
According to the Joint Economic Committee, women in Colorado make up 46 percent of the state workforce. They will earn $431,000 less than men over their lifetime.