Equal Pay Act's 50th Anniversary Brings Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand And Marie Claire EIC Anne Fulenwider To The Table

Sen. Gillibrand: Equal Pay 'Is Not Only About Women'

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, a 1963 law which aimed to eliminate the wage gap between male and female workers. Fifty years later, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Marie Claire editor-in-chief Anne Fulenwider joined CBS This Morning to discuss the progress we have -- and haven't made.

Unfortunately women still make 77 cents for every dollar men make on average, across all career fields. And according to Gillibrand, who has been a strong advocate of the Paycheck Fairness Act, this isn't just hurting individual women, it's hurting the whole country. "This is an economic issue. It's about not only women, but the middle class," she said. "And if you're not paying a woman dollar on the dollar for the exact same work, you're not really tapping the full potential of our economy."

Gillibrand also argued that having more women in Congress would force our legislative branch to take the issue of equal pay more seriously. "One of the reasons I've been fighting so much for more women in Congress is this is something they believe strongly in, and they can work on on a bipartisan basis," she said.

But while Congress is grappling with legislation, female workers still need to be advocating for themselves at the office. Fulenwider gave women three pieces of advice for going into a salary negotiation: research the pay in your respective field, practice the conversation with someone you trust and have a low number and a high number in mind.

What advice would you give women in the workforce looking to advocate for themselves?

Before You Go

Los Angeles, 92 cents

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