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Brown Calls for Closing Gender Wage Gap
WASHINGTON – A new report shows unequal pay costs Ohio women more than $16 billion in lost income annually. The report by the National Partnership for Women & Families shows that women who are employed full time in Ohio are paid just 77 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap in wages of $10,430 for an Ohio woman employed full time.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, cited the report in calling for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would make it harder for businesses to discriminate based on gender.
“It’s simple: equal work deserves equal pay. But today in Ohio, women working full time earn only 77 cents to every dollar earned by a man, which leads to a staggering gap of $16 billion every year,” Brown said. “The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen the ability of women to fight for equal pay, provide for their families and children, and also contribute to our state and local economies.”
According to the political interest group's analysis, which is based on U.S. Census Bureau data, if the gap between men’s and women’s wages in Ohio were eliminated, Ohio women working full time could buy groceries for 1.7 more years, pay mortgage and utilities for eight more months, pay rent for 15 more months or purchase 2,800 more gallons of gas.
An analysis of the country’s 50 largest metropolitan areas shows that women in the Cleveland are paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to men in the area, on par with the national rate. That amounts to a yearly gap of $11,203 between men and women who work full time.
Women in the two other large Ohio metros fare slightly better. In Cincinnati, women are paid 79 cents for every dollar paid to men in the area, amounting to a yearly gap of $10,134 between men and women who work full time. Women in the Columbus area are paid 81 cents for every dollar paid to men in the area, amounting to a yearly gap of $9,261.
Women nationally are also paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to men with African American women (64 cents) and Latina women (55 cents) faring worse for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. It is estimated that at the rate that the wage gap is closing, women will not be paid equally for more than four decades.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and help women fight wage discrimination by:
- Disallowing employers from retaliating against workers who, with their colleagues, discuss salaries;
- Making gender-based discrimination as equal to other forms of wage discrimination, and allowing women to take legal action for damages;
- Requiring employers to prove that pay differences exist for legitimate reasons such as education, training, and experience;
- Creating a negotiation skills training program for women and girls;
- Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women;
- Providing small businesses and other businesses assistance with equal pay practices; and
- Enhancing the ability of the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate and enforce pay discrimination laws.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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