The vote against gender pay equity

Last week, a large group of 10th District men and women delivered a letter to Rep. Mark Kirk's district office expressing our dismay with his recent vote against pay equity. In total, the letter had over 120 signatures.

Over 85 years after gaining the right to vote, women still face staggering wage discrimination in the workplace, making 77 cents to every dollar a man makes for the same work.

With the recent economic downturn, pay equity is more important than ever.

Many of us live in two- working-parent homes or have daughters who do.

At a time when our families are being squeezed and when every dollar matters, why do women not deserve the same rights as men in the workplace when we contribute to our households just the same?

Why did Rep. Kirk turn his back on the hundreds of thousands of women in his district by voting against our civil rights?

While we may not yet have equality at the workplace, we do have equality in the ballot box and will be exercising that right come November.

Karen Fujisawa

Winnetka