[…] “The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is just the first of many tools women need. My fight for equal pay was never supposed to end with me, and it was never meant to be partisan. Letting that be the case would be an additional injustice. A 2012 study by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) controlled for factors known to affect earnings, such as education, parenthood and hours worked, and found that college-educated women still earn 7 percent less than their male peers just one year out of school — even when they have the same major and occupation. That’s not a small amount, and it gets worse over time, as most benefits and raises are based on wages. These pay disparities harm women, their families and the nation’s economy. According to a recent study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the U.S. economy would produce an additional $447.6 billion in income if women received equal pay.”