Furthermore, wage discrimination lowers one’s lifetime earnings and thereby reduces Social Security benefits and pensions.  Also, women tend to be clustered in low-wage, low-skill fields (e.g. child care, health aid, and cosmetology). 

Women are moving into higher educational achievements, but these improvements do not translate into comparable economic success.  In 2006, college educated women 25 and older, earned 75% of what their male peers earned.

It is obvious that there is still sexual and racial discrimination still continues to be a problem in the American workplace.  For example: 

A study done by The National Association for Female Executives showed that in 2004 women physicians and surgeons earned an average of $50,856 compared to male physicians earnings of $97,448.  Furthermore there was around a 50% gap between males and females in marketing and sales as well as commodities and financial services sales.

We need serious legislation:

• To close the wage gaps and provide equal pay for equal work,

• Requirements for regular reporting of all employers as well as the DOL investigatory enforcement tools that were eliminated under the current Bush administration,

• To close the gaps in wage discrimination based on race through changes to the Civil Rights Act. 

To allow groups of workers to file class action suits with no statute of limitations and allow individuals to sue for fair wages and receive punitive and compensatory damages as well as back pay.