WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tuesday is Equal Pay Day, which symbolizes the number of extra days an American woman who works full-time, year-round must work into 2018 to match the salary of the average man in 2017. The average American woman is still paid only 80 cents for every dollar paid to men. In Alabama, the gap grows to 76 cents to the dollar. Currently, Alabama joins Mississippi as being the only two states in the country without any equal pay protections.

Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) releases the following statement:

“The gender pay gap is a painful reality that leaves millions of working women and their families struggling to make ends meet,” said Rep. Terri Sewell. “This Equal Pay Day is a chance to recognize the work we have left to do to ensure women are given equal opportunities and equal pay in the workplace. In Alabama, women earn just 74 cents on the dollar compared to men. The average African American woman is paid only 63 cents for every dollar paid to white men. That is woefully unacceptable, and here in Congress, I am pushing for action to close the pay gap. If we want to live up to our country’s core values of equality and opportunity, then we have to fight discrimination wherever it exists and ensure women get the equal pay they deserve.”

Rep. Sewell is a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill which closes loopholes in the Equal Pay Act and strengthens penalties for employers who discriminate based on gender.

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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.