Released on March 14, 2023

Statement by NOW President Christian F. Nunes   

WASHINGTON, D.C. – NOW is committed to commemorating Equal Pay Day and what it means for all women. While it’s a significant occasion, it also rekindles feelings of disbelief, anger, and frustration. It’s 2023 and – inexplicably and unjustifiably – it’s difficult to reckon with the fact that women are still not paid equally to men. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research even projects that gender pay equity won’t become a reality until 2059.  

Although the gender pay gap has slightly narrowed for all workers with earnings, we still have a long way to go. Women are not just a single monolithic group, which is reflected in the unfortunate racial pay gap that further limits the economic freedoms of women of color. White women working full-time in the US make 82 cents for every dollar earned by white men whereas Black and Indigenous women earn just 60 cents for every dollar. The gap widens for Latina women who earn only 55 cents for every dollar made by white men. Not only are these numbers devastating, but they also haven’t changed much in the past two decades.  

There are already disproportionate economic burdens thrust upon women, such as shouldering the majority of unpaid work and childcare. As they say, a woman’s work is never done, and in many cases, it’s never compensated. The pandemic’s effect on women has also been incredibly harsh in what is now being called the “she-cession.” And while both men and women experienced unemployment at similar rates, since 2020, men have regained triple the jobs that women have. In addition, 80 percent of working mothers took the lead on remote learning compared to 31 percent of working fathers, an uncomfortable reassertion of outdated and unfair traditional values.  

Women everywhere deserve economic justice and without equal pay, this simply isn’t possible. There is much to gain from closing the gender and racial pay gaps. Not only would women finally be compensated what they deserve but it would decrease poverty across the country by boosting financial independence for all women. Let’s ensure that we leave the gender pay gap in the past, where it belongs. 

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,

Released on March 9, 2023

Statement by National NOW President Christian F. Nunes 

WASHINGTON–In the eight months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, one in three women have lost access to abortion care, and over 17 million can no longer access all the reproductive health care they need.  States are rushing to pass more bans and restrictions on abortions, as well as laws that would send women to jail for taking care of their health. 

Senate Democrats know that attacks on reproductive rights are growing crisis that must be stopped—NOW.  That’s why NOW members are excited to support the reintroduction of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify the right to abortion care at the national level. 

Women need to know that no matter your zip code, or who’s in control of your state legislature, your bodily autonomy will be respected—and protected. 

Extremist politicians say they’re protecting women’s health, but it’s really about holding on to their own power over women’s lives.  And once again, the lives that are most at risk are those already dealing with the worst inequity. States with the most restrictive abortion bans have some of the highest rates of Black maternal death—as much as 38% greater than in states without abortion restrictions. 

Women’s lives are at stake.  The Senate must pass the Women’s Health Protection Act. 

Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,