Women's rights for equal pay could be hindered by Republican Senators.

GOP Senators on Wednesday this week attempted to stop a Democrats bill which sought to close the pay gap between men and women. This is perhaps a win for women and Democrats, but the GOP are fighting against the bill, alongside support from business groups.

The bill was voted on 53-44, but seven votes were needed in order for it to prevail. The bill would mean two actions in support of women: firstly, businesses can cite for paying women less than men in the same jobs, and bar employers from retaliating against workers who share salary information. Secondly, the bill would also make it easier to bring class-action lawsuits against companies, and let the winners in such lawsuits achieve punitive and compensatory damages.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), one of the senators who voted no against the bill, stated that the "proposals before the Senate now are really geared toward making it easier to sue an employer," Fox News Latino reported. Like Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also voiced his opposition to pay equality legislation; Cruz was listed as not having voted. Cruz accused Democrats of pushing the equal pay issue as a political ploy that they hope will reward them in this fall's congressional elections.

This is the third consecutive election year that Senate Democrats have pushed a bill making it harder for employers to pay women less than men in comparable jobs, and easier for aggrieved workers to sue. Joined by Democratic lawmakers and Lilly Ledbetter at the White House, it is Ledbetter's claims of pay inequity by her employer that led to the 2009 anti-discrimination statute bearing her name, the first bill Obama signed as president.

Paycheck discrimination based on gender has been illegal since the 1960s. The Ledbetter law extended the time people have to file lawsuits claiming violations of that law, Fox News Latino reported.

Further to the new changes, Obama signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against workers who discuss their pay. Obama also directed the Labor Department to issue new rules requiring federal contractors to provide compensation data that includes a breakdown by race and gender, Fox News Politics reported. "Pay secrecy fosters discrimination," Obama said.

The GOP lawmakers countered by stating that this measure could hinder employers from granting raises, or permitting flexible hours in exchange for lower pay, for fear of costly lawsuits, ABC News reported.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md)., the sponsor of this bill, stated that everyone should know, including those in the Senate, and in the US, although they lost the vote, they "refuse to lose the battle, we are going to fight."

As of 2012, women are averaged at 77 percent of men's earnings, according to Census Bureau figures. This means an improved 61 percent differential as of 1960, but little has changed since 2001. Further statistics suggest that women who generally work shorter hours are likelier to take lower-paying jobs. sixty-two percent of the 3.3 million workers earning at or below the minimum wage last year were women, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Alongside the GOP who are opposed to the bill, they are the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation and 22 other business groups, who sent a letter to Senate leaders this Friday.