Dear Editor:

As we prepare to welcome a new year, it is important to remember Ohio families and the women who work so hard to provide for their families.

Here in Ohio, women earn just 77 cents on the dollar compared to men. This is what we call the wage gap.

The wage gap has a real impact on our families. It’s about dollars and cents and real Ohio women trying to feed their families and pay their bills, all on an income that is on average 23 percent less than what Ohio men are making. Because of the wage gap, Ohio women lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars of income over the course of their careers.

Sen. Rob Portman says he’s against discrimination in the workplace, but he voted five times against legislation that would actually do something about pay equity. His actions have a real consequences and prove that he’s putting his Washington politics first, not the working people of Ohio. It is time for Sen. Portman to take action and support the Paycheck Fairness Act. If he continues to oppose equal pay, then he should give back or donate 23 percent of his taxpayer-funded Senate salary to women in Ohio to support their families.

Joyce Shrimplin