Christine Huard - At four months into the year, working women’s wages caught up to what men were paid the year before on “Equal Pay Day,” observed Tuesday.

In San Diego, women make 75 cents to every $1 earned by their male counterparts. That’s slightly worse than the national average, according to the American Association of University Women, and 9 cents less than women statewide.

Those figures come from Congressman Scott Peters (D-San Diego), who addressed the wage gap between genders Tuesday by calling for support of the Paycheck Fairness Act, and saying the pay disparity is unacceptable.

“I have women on my staff, I’m a husband, and the father to a young woman. Women should earn equal pay for equal work,” Rep. Peters said. “This is an issue that is important for families across San Diego given how many households rely on women’s wages to pay bills, educate their children, and save for retirement.”

According to the AAUW, female wage earners in the United State earn 23 cents less on every $1 earned by men.

Statewide, women fare better than the national average, earning 84 cents for every $1 a man is paid–or about  $3.2 billion less each year than their male counterparts performing the same work with the same experience, according to Peters.

To put the wage gap in perspective, Peters said last year the difference represents a month’s worth of mortgage and utility payments, seven months of rent, or more than a year’s worth of food bills.

Peters, a former San Diego City Council president and Port Commission chairman, represents the 52nd District, which includes Poway, Coronado, and a large part of the city of San Diego. He was elected to Congress in 2012.