PFA Filibuster “Antithetical to the American Dream” Says Civil and Human Rights Coalition

Washington, D.C. – Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on today’s vote blocking consideration of the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA):

“Today, a minority of senators blocked basic fairness for women and their families. It’s that simple, and that sad.

In today’s economic climate, women’s wages are even more critical components of working families’ struggle to make ends meet. Yet women are often forced to raise their families on incomes lower than male colleagues performing the same jobs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women who work full-time still earn, on average, only 77 cents for every dollar men earn.  African-American women are paid only 62 cents, and Latinas only 54 cents, for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men.

These senators have sent the message to American women that they should be ineligible for an honest day’s pay to perform an honest day’s work. What could be more antithetical to the American Dream than that?”

Nancy Zirkin is executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.