What Does Rep. Souder Have Against Working Women?

Americans United for Change Asks: What Does Rep. Souder Have Against Working Women?

Souder Votes Pro-Discrimination AGAIN!!!!

Washington D.C. – Americans United for Change called on Rep. Mark Souder, (R-IN) to explain his vote against giving Indiana’s women, who have been discriminated against, the right to fight for equal wages in these tough times.

“Last night Rep. Souder sent a disturbing message to those women lucky enough to still have a job in this terrible economy: ‘Your work doesn’t matter as much as mine’,” said Caren Benjamin, deputy director of Americans United for Change, the progressive group behind the Bush Legacy Tour. “Gender-based paycheck discrimination hurts everyone. In times like these, equal pay for equal work is a matter of survival for families.”

Yesterday, Souder voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act, which closes loopholes that have allowed employers to discriminate against working women by paying them less than men.

Statistically, across the nation, women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes; African American women earn just 63 cents for every dollar a man makes, and Hispanic American women make 52 cents for every dollar a man makes.

Earlier this year, Souder voted to block the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, meaningful legislation that would level the playing field for women and men who have been victims of pay discrimination by allowing them to seek justice in the courts.

“Fortunately, most members of Congress recognize that we have emerged from the dark ages where women were not supposed to work outside of the home, let alone earn what men do. It’s too bad that despite the highest unemployment rate in years, and the clear need for working people to earn fair wages, that Rep. Souder can’t see his way into the light of the 21^st century,” Benjamin added.

I know someone who supports fair wage legislation: