As predicted, the Senate was unable to get the 60 votes necessary to invoke cloture and end the Republican filibuster that is preventing the Paycheck Fairness Act from coming to a vote on the floor.
Not a single Republican voted to invoke cloture, and so, without a 2/3rd majority vote to end the filibuster, the bill cannot come up for a vote. Invoking cloture equals supporting the bill, as Democrats have enough votes for a straight majority win.
Let me be clear. Not even Republican women senators Kay Bailey Hutchison, Susan Collins, or Olympia Snowe, voted to support the Paycheck Fairness Act. Republican women voted against pay equity for women. You can see the roll call vote record here.
I want to make this specific and explicit because yesterday, after the vote and as far as I can tell anything from search terms and site visits, I got plenty of hits from people checking to see how the vote played out, and who voted. Not surprisingly, people are paying attention.
Update: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, voted against the bill. This was a procedural vote, however, that will allow him to bring the issue up for a vote again, as he actually supports the bill.
nonsequiteuse 
There are many factors when it comes to equal pay. Experience, education, ability to do the job. Do these “unequal” wages include position? Men are often in higher positions than women because many women choose to take time off work and their careers for child birth, they choose not to put in as many hours to spend time with their children, and various other factors of choice. I wonder what the data and statistics say about these things. There are many factors when it comes to earnings so I would be willing to bet these statistics are somehow skewed.
Having said that – assuming ALL things are equal – a man and women should earn equal wages for an equal position.
Atticus, I would address the points you raise except that others have done so very well and I’m busy. I suggest you start here for a short answer:
https://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/2007/03/09/what-is-the-gender-gap/
You can then tackle the extra for experts, in three-party harmony:
http://www.echidne-of-the-snakes.com/gendergap/
Thanks for visiting!
Thank you for the references. I’ll be sure to take a look.