Hoosier Women Gather To Support Joe Donnelly’s Push For Gender Equality

By Quinn Fitzgerald
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS –More than 75 Hoosier women joined together in Indianapolis to advocate for gender equality and equal pay.

Tuesday, Jill Donnelly launched the Women for Joe constituency group during a reception at The Athenaeum Foundation. Donnelly, lawmakers, and other women discussed U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly’s record in fighting for women in the Senate.

“I’m proud to be a founding member of Women for Joe because he’s fought for women throughout his time in the Senate,” said Cynthia Johnson, member of Women for Joe in  Hamilton County.

The reception also included discussion of Equal Pay Day and its reminder that Hoosier women make 74 cents for every dollar men do. Tuesday marked the point in which the average American woman would have to work in 2017 and 2018 to earn the same as the average American man.

“It’s not just equal pay. It’s Equal Pay Day, but it’s also about equal opportunities,” said Jill Donnelly, spouse of the first-term Democratic senator.

Last August, President Donald Trump repealed an Obama administration wage gap initiative––also known as the Equal Pay Rule––that would have required companies with more than 100 employees and government contractors with more than 50 employees to categorize them by race and gender.

Advocates of Women for Joe spoke of how he has been fighting for women and equality throughout the years. When he was in the House, Joe Donnelly helped pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which gave workers who allege pay discrimination more time to file suit to pursue those charges.

“Since I first met Joe, he’s been a champion for women and a fighter for equality. He knows Hoosier women should only be limited by the boundaries of our dreams, and he’s worked hard to help bring about a society reflecting that,” Jill Donnelly said.

 FOOTNOTE: Quinn Fitzgerald is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.