Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve
. –George Bernard Shaw
Last year I heard something that set me back on my heels, catalyzing the interviews (and forth-coming book) about real women in America: Main Street Women. At a youth leadership forum, the decades-old pay inequity statistic was presented to a group of 150 high school juniors: females in America make about 77 cents for every dollar males earn in the U.S. Red-faced, one girl turned to me and said, “Then why am I even trying?”
Paycheck Fairness Act
Week three of the 8 week tolerance challenge gave me a chance to try out the intolerance-taming practices in the context of the Paycheck Fairness Act . What better way to test out the 4 practices than on something that tends to bring out my ire and sometimes, vocal paralysis as I find it incomprehensible that anyone could disagree with the concept of equal pay for equal work.
Below are two Missouri Senators email responses (verbatim/cut-paste) received after I wrote them to express that I wanted the Paycheck Fairness Act brought to a vote. And, that I wanted them to vote yay as my representatives. The four intolerance taming practices: 1. Find one thing to love. 2. Separate the message from the messenger. 3. Notice blinders and rip them off. 4. Use a (tolerance) tweezers.
First Paycheck Fairness Act Response: Senator Roy Blunt (R)
Dear Jone M. Boswort,
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Like you, I want to ensure that American workers are not exposed to wage discrimination. Compensation should be structured to ensure fair treatment and an equal playing field for all employees, but it must be determined by the market and needs of that business or employer, not a one-size-fits-all standard set by the government.
In the past, I have opposed this measure because current law already protects employees from pay discrepancies based on gender, but measures such as the Paycheck Fairness Act expose employers to frivolous lawsuits and unfairly subject them to onerous judicial oversight.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would also inhibit employers’ tools to attract and retain quality employees by effectively ending incentive pay or employee retention programs because of the pay disparities that may naturally result.
With unemployment unacceptably high and millions of Americans out of work, tying the hands of our job creators with additional burdensome regulations will not only inhibit job creation but add to economic uncertainty.
Again, thank you for contacting me. I look forward to continuing our conversation on Facebook (
www.facebook.com/SenatorBlunt
) and Twitter (
www.twitter.com/RoyBlunt
) about the important issues facing Missouri and the country. I also encourage you to visit my website (
blunt.senate.gov
) to learn more about where I stand on the issues and sign-up for my e-newsletter.
Sincere regards,
Roy Blunt
United States Senator
Second Response: Senator Claire McCaskill (D)
February 19, 2013
Dear Ms. Bosworth,
Thank you for contacting me regarding wage equality for women. I appreciate hearing from you, and welcome the opportunity to respond.
Our nation has long embraced the principle of equal rights, as written in the Declaration of Independence. For generations, the federal government has had a role in ensuring these rights. In pursuing this ideal, we have adopted universal suffrage and passed laws to ban discrimination based on race, color, and sex, including the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which made it illegal to pay women less for the same work simply because they are women. In 2009, in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that limited women’s access to justice in pursuing claims of pay discrimination, I strongly supported the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (Public Law 111-2), which restored tools for women to report and seek compensation for pay discrimination.
However, fifty years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, women in Missouri still earn only 74 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts performing the same job. Study after study has confirmed that this gap cannot be blamed on differences between male and female workers in job experience, physical ability, or motivation to succeed at work.
To address this decades-old disparity, I have co-sponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act in each Congress since coming to the Senate in 2007. The Paycheck Fairness Act, if enacted, would standardize the process of investigating gender-based pay discrimination cases, stiffen penalties for violators, and improve the ability of government agencies to assemble statistics on wage rates for women. These tools would help increase compliance with the Equal Pay Act and empower women on the job.
Last year, the Paycheck Fairness Act was considered by the full Senate. Unfortunately, Senate Republicans prevented full debate and a vote on the legislation.
This year, I am proud to again be an original co-sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, S. 84, and am committed to working with my colleagues in the Senate to see that this bill becomes law during the 113th Congress.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance to you on this or any other issue.
Sincerely,
Claire McCaskill
United States Senator
P.S. If you would like more information about resources that can help Missourians, or what I am doing in the Senate on your behalf, please sign up for my email newsletter at http://mccaskill.senate.gov .
Let the Civil War begin.
–David Bossie, Citizens United president
Blunt and McCaskill’s responses illuminate the divide between the two parties — and the nation. As I read, I did my best to notice and remove blinders. I kept reading despite catchphrases that rankle me like “job creators,” or the perspective that the market is just and fairness flows from it.
I noticed the finger-pointing (Republicans prevented full debate) and focused on learning. I smiled at the misspelling of my name. Most of all, I relished the chance to critically think about what I want, and would support, from my elected officials.
Learn More About How Your Congressional Reps Vote, Think & Stand on Issues Important to You
A great resource is Project Vote Smart http://votesmart.org/ which is a non-partisan, nonprofit educational organization dedicated to strengthening democracy with an essential resource: information.
This weekend, access some new-news source, get into a conversation that’s uncomfortable, try the intolerance taming practices and let me know what happens!
