OLYMPIA – Representative Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, today released the following statement:
“April 14 is Equal Pay Day. It marks another year since the Equal Pay Act passed and yet women are still suffering from unequal pay.
“We have made much progress across the country and here in Washington, but the wage gap still exists and is as pervasive as ever. Everyone should earn what they deserve and by insisting women are treated equally, we can build a stronger economy and society.
“Now is the time when we must pursue transparency in our compensation so that all workers are rewarded equally regardless of gender. Even though my bill did not pass the Senate this year, I will continue working to make the Equal Pay Opportunity Act the law of the land in Washington and end the gender wage gap.”
Rep. Senn was the prime sponsor of Washington’s Equal Pay Opportunity Act, HB 1646, which passed the House of Representatives but died in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee chaired by Sen. Michael Baumgartner.
Equal Pay Day originated in 1996 and was created by the National Committee on Pay Equity as a public awareness event to illustrate the gender wage gap.