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Pay Equity

Pay inequity affects women of all colors and backgrounds. Wage disparities not only cause lower incomes for women, they also result in higher rates of poverty and poorer standards of living during retirement.

Equal Pay Act

Wage Discrimination

Equal Pay Act

As a working woman, you should be aware of your rights to a fair and equal salary. Under two federal laws, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it is illegal to pay women less than men for doing similar work. Specifically, under the Equal Pay Act, employers must pay equal salaries to women and men for work that is equal or substantially equal. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers with at least 15 workers:

• cannot pay men and women unequally if they perform similar work;
• cannot offer training opportunities to men but not to women;
• cannot refuse to consider women for job promotions or managerial positions; and
• cannot pay higher wages for "men's jobs" than "women's jobs" that require equal skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.

Despite these laws, wage discrimination still exists today, keeping millions of workers from earning their true economic value. In 1998 the average woman earned only 73 cents for every dollar earned by the average man. For every dollar earned by white men, white women earned 73 cents, black women earned 63 cents, and Hispanic women earned 53 cents.

Wage Discrimination

What Can You Do If Facing Wage Discrimination?
The US DOL Women's Bureau offers the following advice for women who are, or think they are, experiencing wage discrimination.

• Write down what happened to make you think you're being discriminated against. Were you offered a lower starting salary than a man had been? Were you denied a promotion in an unequal way? Keep a record of any comments that describe women negatively, whether the comments are made to you or to others. Keep your notes in a safe place at home, not in the office.



• Get emotional support from friends and family. It can be very upsetting to feel you have been treated unfairly at work. Think carefully about what you want to do, and then get the help you need to do it.



• Keep doing a good job and keep a record of your work. Keep copies at home of your job evaluations and any letters or memos that show that you do a good job at work. Your boss may criticize your job performance later in order to defend his or her act of discrimination.



• Find out how other women have been treated at your workplace. Talk to other women who may have been paid unequally. You may want to share information and think of ways to improve working conditions, including hiring, benefits, promotion, work schedule and termination practices. A different law, the National Labor Relations Act, protects your right to meet and to try to improve your working conditions. For more information on the law, contact the National Labor Relations Board, (www.nlrb.gov) which enforces it.



• Talk to your employer. Some companies may have specific informal ways to handle discrimination problems. A personnel or EEO/affirmative action officer should have this information available. Explain your complaints to supervisors and administrators in writing. Your company may be as eager as you are to solve the problem without going through a formal process. Check your employee handbook for procedures.



• If you belong to a union, talk to your union steward or representative. Union rules often allow you to file a grievance, and having a union means someone will represent you and try to resolve what's happened to you. Learn what the company rules are and what your handbook says. If you don't have a union, you may want to consider joining an existing union or working with others to start one. Overall, unionized women's wages are significantly higher than those of women without a union.



• You have a right to file a charge. If you think you are being subjected to wage discrimination, you have a right to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission . You may want to talk with a union representative or your employer first to try to come to an agreement out of court. If you decide to file a charge, you must do so within 180 days. Call the EEOC toll-free at (800) 669-4000 for more information.
  

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