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Thursday, August 31, 2017
Dropping Pay Data
Collection Removes a Vital Tool Needed to Promote Equality
The news that the Trump administration’s Office of
Management and Budget issued a ‘review
and stay’ of equal pay data collection is extremely disappointing. At last
summer’s Republican National Convention, Ivanka Trump vowed that her father
would fight for equal pay for women. However, this move diminishes the
Administration’s ability to reach that outcome.
In September, the Indiana Institute for Working Families will
publish a first-of-its-kind report on gender disparities in wages, wealth, and
poverty. Comparing Hoosier men and women working full time, year round, our
wage gap is 24 percent or $11,339. These earnings differences contribute to gaps
in assets like home equity and retirement savings. Women in Indiana are also
more likely to experience poverty. At the current rate of progress, Indiana’s
gender wage gap is not
projected to close until 2082.
The revised EEO-1 equal pay data collection form would have
increased the speed at which we could close these gaps. At the Institute, we firmly
believe that data can fosters productive self-reflection, dialogue, and action.
This data collection tool - developed with extensive public input - was
designed to both encourage large employers to reflect on their own pay practices
and provide useful data to make the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
more efficient and effective. Now, it is less likely that either of those goals
will come to fruition.
Action is needed on multiple fronts to address gender and
race-based wage gaps and their far-reaching consequences for families,
communities, and our economy. Leading employers in Indiana and beyond have
already recognized the importance of pay audits and addressing pay gaps; they know
it is the right thing to do and that gender
diversity boosts productivity. But not all employers will follow suit. The
Administration’s decision to call a halt to this carefully considered, common
sense proposal raises serious questions about its commitment to the economic
well-being of Hoosier families and our economy.
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