Received this e-mail today from U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown’s (D. OH) re-election campaign:
We're 93 days into 2017, and we've reached Equal Pay Day. Women have had to work these extra 93 days in order to earn as much as men in the workforce earned in 2016 alone.
Ninety-three days.
It's incredible to me that in this day and age, we haven't been able to close the gender wage gap. Today on Equal Pay Day, help me get 9,300 signatures on our petition calling on Congress to fix this. Add your name.
In 2015, the median earnings for women working full-time were just 80 percent of their male counterparts. That's just a single percent better than the previous year. At the rate we're going right now, it will take 136 years to close the gender wage gap.
The numbers are even worse inside Ohio. We rank 42nd in gender wage equity in the country. Women in Ohio only make 75 cents for every dollar men make.
This isn't just hurting women -- it's hurting families and our economy as a whole. In Ohio, the wage gap costs women on average a little over $12,600 a year. That could be a down payment on a house. That could pay the rent, mortgage, or health care bills for months. That could pay off a credit card or go into a college fund for children.
Women shouldn't have to put in 93 extra days of work to earn the same as men. They shouldn't have to work an extra 93 minutes. Women deserve equal pay now.
Demand Congress take action now to make that happen.
Thank you.
Sherrod