Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First District today released the following statement on the 5th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which affirmed that all Americans should receive equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender:  

“I am proud that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first bill that I voted for as a Member of Congress,” said Representative Titus.  “But while the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act has been a valuable tool in the fight against wage discrimination for women, we still have more work to do to end unfair treatment in the workplace.  The gender pay gap not only harms individual women, it hurts their families and their communities. In this country we espouse equal opportunity, but to achieve equal opportunity, we must first have equal pay.”

Congresswoman Titus is a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act and help women fight wage discrimination.  The average American woman still makes only 77 cents for every dollar that men earn. In Nevada, they earn 85 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gap of over $6300 every year. Collectively, Nevada women are losing around $2.3 billion each year due to the pay gap.