Ahead of an election where women's votes will be critical, the Biden-Harris administration is commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first law of the Obama-Biden administration, and taking additional steps to close the wage gap. I'm drunk. Improve pay transparency.
“Women workers still receive an average of 84 cents for every dollar paid to men, and for many women of color, the gap is even larger. Today, my administration is taking new steps to improve pay equity for the federal workforce and federal contractor employees. These new measures adopt common-sense policies that pay fair wages for millions of workers, close gender and racial wage gaps, and provide real benefits to the federal government and federal contractors. These policies are good for workers, the economy, and families,” President Biden said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA.
Every year when the Lilly Ledbetter Act comes out, critics of the Fair Pay Act claim that there is no discrepancy, and that if there is a discrepancy, it is because women are not eligible. But Pew actually found that by 2022, U.S. women “typically earn 82 cents for every dollar men earn” and that “the pay gap persists even though women today are more likely than men to graduate from college.” I did.
This is even more true for women of color. “In 2022, black women earned 70% of what white men earned, while Hispanic women earned only 65%. “The proportion of white women was almost the same as the overall income gap at 83%, and the proportion of Asian women was almost the same as that of white men at 93%.”
The measures announced Monday will impact pay equity and pay disclosure/transparency for federal employees and contractors. Jennifer Klain, director of the White House New Policy Council, explained in a call with reporters that we participated in that in addition to strengthening the economy, this would be a good model for employees and employers.
In what she called a “big step forward,” Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said OPM has issued new regulations “prohibiting the use of salary history when setting salaries for roles in the federal government.” Additionally, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council issued a proposed rule that would prohibit federal contractors from “seeking and considering information about an applicant’s past compensation when making employment decisions.”
“Relying on a candidate’s salary history can exacerbate existing inequities and pay structures and disproportionately impact women and workers of color,” Young explains, adding that this has actually happened early in their careers. . It's important to have people with diverse backgrounds and experiences around the table.
In 2022, the federal government has a much lower pay gap (5.6% – less than 1% at senior level) compared to the national gender pay gap (16%), but there is still room for improvement, and the president is the only one in control.
“Under these new regulations. Federal agencies do not consider an applicant's non-federal salary history when setting salaries for new employees. Relying on candidate salary records could exacerbate existing deep inequities and disproportionately affect women and workers of color,” Kiran Ahuja, director of the Office of Personnel Management, said on the call.
This is called… Lead by example.
The president also called on Congress to “pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to increase pay transparency and strengthen tools to fight gender-based pay discrimination.” female.
It is perhaps these seemingly small and certainly missed actions that allow governments to let their citizens know what they stand for. It's about where they are flexible and where they put their resources to work. For women, the wage gap is not only demoralizing and unfair, it can cost them millions of dollars over a lifetime.
There is something poignant about having Biden add this to the first bill of the Obama-Biden administration at this stage in his career. However, the president is no stranger to awareness of women's issues. In 1990, he submitted a proposal to address violence against women, which eventually became the Violence Against Women Act. Centered around rape provisions, the bill included the first federal criminal law on battery and funding to address stalking, victim services, and evidentiary issues. It took four years to pass, in part due to resistance from Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a Republican.
Having a president who sees these injustices as something worth fighting for change is a far cry from the past president, whose actions against women ultimately led to the #MeToo movement and who was just told by a jury that he must pay $83.3 to a rape victim. $1 million for defaming her.
Hear Sarah's story here in the PoliticusUSA pod on The Daily newsletter podcast.
Sarah was qualified to cover President Barack Obama, then-Vice President Joe Biden, and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, had several exclusive interviews with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and made her first home appearance since then-President Donald Trump's first impeachment. We covered it exclusively.
Sarah is a two-time Telly Award-winning video producer and member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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