Whereas section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 206(d)(1) ) prohibits discrimination in compensation for equal work on the basis of sex; Whereas title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) prohibits discrimination in compensation because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex; Whereas over 5 decades after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 ( 29 U.S.C. 206 note), Census Bureau data shows that women working full time, year round are paid an overall average of 80 cents for every dollar paid to men, while Asian-American women working full time, year round are paid 85 cents, African-American women working full time, year round are paid 63 cents, Hispanic women working full time, year round are paid 54 cents, American Indian and Alaska Native women working full time, year round are paid 58 cents, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women working full time, year round are paid 60 cents compared to White, non-Hispanic men; Whereas if current trends continue, on average, women will have to wait 42 years for equal pay, while African-American women will wait 107 years, and Hispanic women will wait 231 years; Whereas the wage gap collectively costs women employed full time in the United States more than $840 billion in annual lost wages, meaning families have less money to spend on goods and services that help drive economic growth; Whereas sex discrimination in education, hiring, and promotion has played a role in maintaining a work force segregated by sex; Whereas sex-based wage differentials— (1) depress employee wages and living standards necessary for their health and well-being; (2) reduce family incomes and contribute to the higher poverty rates among women and female-headed households; (3) prevent the effective and maximum utilization of available labor resources; and (4) constitute an unfair method of competition; Whereas opening traditionally male jobs to women and reducing occupational segregation by sex increases earnings for women