NWLC Applauds Biden Administration’s Announcement of Measures to Help Close Gender and Racial Wage Gaps
The following is a statement by Emily Martin, Chief Program Officer for the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC):
“The Biden administration gave women a reason to cheer this morning when it announced measures that will help close persistent race and gender wage gaps that are still far too large 15 years after passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Federal government employers will no longer be allowed to rely on the prior salaries of job applicants to set their pay as federal employees. This will mean the nation’s largest employer is putting an end to an outmoded practice that disproportionately hurts women and allows pay discrimination to trail them from job to job. We are thrilled that the Biden Administration is also proposing both to extend that rule to federal contractors and to require them to post salary ranges in job listings. Pay disparities thrive in secrecy. Providing salary transparency to workers at the outset of their job search helps level the playing field for women and benefits businesses that can recruit potentially larger, more diverse, and more qualified applicant pools. Transparency also gives employers a strong incentive to evaluate their pay practices and correct any pay inequities inside their workplaces. Today’s announcement is in step with a growing pay range transparency movement in states across the country where increasing numbers of workers are only applying for jobs that reveal a salary range.”
