How to give equal pay laws power
/On Wednesday, we marked another Equal Pay Day, the point in the year when women have finally made what men made in 2020. And that's just the average across all women — Black women will make what white men made in 2020 on Aug. 3, Indigenous women on Sept. 8, and Latina women on Oct. 21.
In order to eradicate such incredible pay disparities, progressive legislation has to step in to keep employers accountable, enforce reporting, and provide safety mechanisms for both employees and employers. Currently, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 protects against sex-based wage discrimination, and 44 states have enacted their own laws to supplement the federal law. In 2019, Congress proposed the Paycheck Fairness Act to supplement the Equal Pay Act. It was reintroduced this January under President Joe Biden.
But according to advocates, the effectiveness of these laws lies in enforcement (which is currently missing) as well as clear, standardized requirements for gathering data on pay inequities.
Syndio, an equity tech platform that helps companies analyze their own pay equity status, released its first State of Pay Equity Laws report this month, documenting where state legislation ranks on effective, enforceable Equal Pay law. The report also shared ten essential criteria to make sure Equal Pay laws empower both employees and employers.