Pay equity is an important issue for all Coloradans and a current topic of conversation for many. On Tuesday, the House passed House Bill 1133, legislation reinstating the Colorado Pay Equity Commission, sending the legislation on to the Senate. I am proud to support this common sense legislation to continue the Commission, which is charged with studying the pay gap for women and people of color in Colorado, and for coming up with creative ideas for how to address these issues in tandem with a wide range of stakeholders, including business owners.
In supporting this bill, I stand with two strong advocates for fairness in our state: Colorado House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst and House Majority Leader Crisanta Duran represent the first time that two women have simultaneously occupied those important leadership positions in our state’s history. Their leadership is a testament to the equality that all Coloradans should enjoy, regardless of gender or race.
In the Colorado General Assembly, men and women, regardless of race or background, earn the same amount and are judged in this context based on the same rules. In the Colorado House of Representatives, we are well led by two women who rightly earn what their male colleagues do. As we work to pass this bill through our chamber, I am confident in our House leadership and share their enthusiasm for working to make our state vibrant, economically strong, and fair. Hullinghorst and Duran have outlined a compelling vision to ensure all Coloradans, regardless of gender or race, have an opportunity to work hard and succeed. This bill represents that desire, and I stand firmly behind them. If our state’s legislators do not subscribe to a pay gap based on gender or race, why should we allow it for our constituents?
Current data shows that Colorado women are still only paid 77.9 cents for every dollar earned by men and the gap is getting wider. The gap is considerably larger for women of color; African-American women earn only 67.5 cents and Latinas just 52.5 cents for every dollar earned by men in the workforce. Put simply, these numbers show that the work of the non-partisan Pay Equality Commission is necessary and must proceed. The commission must continue its work to integrate pay equality and fairness into discussions of economic development in our state. Women represent almost half of the American workforce. Ensuring that women and people of color earn equal pay for equal work is critical to improving the economic security of Colorado families and contributing to economic growth in our state. Further, it is the right thing to do.
Republicans in the Colorado state Senate voted against continuing the important work of the non-partisan Commission in a committee vote in January killing this legislation. The House, in turn, recognized the importance of this effort and introduced a new bill.
Voting against equality in Colorado is not leadership. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the state Senate to do what is right for Coloradans and allow women and people of color the same opportunities to succeed that many of us already enjoy.
State Rep. Dan Pabon, D-Denver, is speaker pro tempore in the Colorado House of Representatives.
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