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Health & Fitness

Karyn Polito: It's more than just pay equity

Tuesday, June 10th will mark 51 years since President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act of 1963, amending the Fair Labor Standards Act and intending to abolish wage discrepancies based on sex. While we’ve made strides, pay inequity still exists today and as I’ve watched the debate unfold I can’t bear to think that economic future of American women depends largely on the glacially slow and painfully partisan process on Capitol Hill. While we may be powerless to impact federal policy, we can do more here in Massachusetts to make sure that women are not left behind.

The truth is that the problems women face here are not caused solely by the additional 19 cents on the dollar earned by men. Of course women deserve to earn equal pay at work, but the stroke of a lawmaker’s pen alone will not ease the burden that too many women face in Massachusetts. Did you know that single mothers are three times more likely to be in poverty than other Massachusetts residents? That more than one-fourth of single mother families have incomes below the poverty line? That three out of four female-headed households in Massachusetts don't earn enough to pay bills and raise their children? Right here in Massachusetts, escaping poverty remains a seemingly insurmountable obstacle for too many women despite the current administration’s assurances our economy is ‘faster and stronger’ than the rest of the nation’s.  

In a recent Globe piece Tom Keane pointed out that income inequality and the “hollowing out” of the middle class is an important issue for Charlie Baker. Charlie and I share a commitment to implementing policies and identifying ways that state government can ease this crisis of income inequality — particularly among women who have been left behind.  That’s why Charlie and I proposed increasing the state’s earned income tax credit — a tool economists agree effectively boosts the take home pay of moms and low income wage earners. Increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit encourages work and puts money back in the pockets of the people who need it the most — hard working moms and dads left behind by eight years of one party rule on Beacon Hill.

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To make a real difference in women’s lives we must do more than adjust the pay of women struggling to get by. We must implement economic policies that unleash the amazing potential of Massachusetts women and provide targeted relief from burdensome taxes. We need a state government that treats the nearly 200,000 women small business owners as partners, not prey. Misguided state policies have been burdening job creators with nearly the highest costs of doing business in the nation, skyrocketing energy prices and exploding health care prices.  We cannot continue to squeeze small business owners without understanding that in doing so we are closing the door to hard working men and women who are trying to get ahead and create a job for someone else. 

When President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, he took a great step forward on behalf of all American women by providing them protection from pay discrimination. As we mark this anniversary and recognize his leadership, let’s think beyond pay equity and implement smart policies that make Massachusetts great for women and men alike.

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