Time’s Up, a legal fund formed by more than 300 women in Hollywood to fight sexual harassment across industries, is also seeking pay equity for actresses. In 2017, the top 10 highest-paid actors banked a cumulative $488.5 million. In contrast, the top 10 earning women banked $172.5 million – just one third of what the men made. But is it just in Hollywood? No.
The National Women’s Law Center reports that women in the U.S. who work full time are paid 80 cents on every dollar paid to men. For women of color, the wage gap is even larger. Women of every race, at all education levels, are paid less than men. And, as women’s careers progress, the wage gap gets larger.
The Equal Pay Act Has Not Brought Equal Pay
The Equal Pay Act has been the law of the land for more than 50 years, yet the wage gap is nowhere near closed. In fact, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) reports that at the rate of change in pay between 1960 and 2016, women are not expected to reach pay equity with men until 2059. But even that slow process has stalled more recently, leaving us with the prospect that women will not reach pay equity with men until 2119.
Clearly, we cannot wait until 2119 or even 2059 to address this issue. A number of states have passed or are considering strong new legislation that will aggressively seek to close the wage gap. Meanwhile, employees have banded together in class actions lawsuits that have generated verdicts or settlements exceeding one hundred million dollars in some cases. The cases are being filed from Silicon Valley to Wall Street and everywhere in between…including Minnesota.
What should you as an organization be doing now? Pay equity evaluations and surveys. Every organization should be comparing the pay of men and women in equivalent roles to see if you have any pay inequity issues that need to be addressed. Figure out the factors that explain any pay differences and if those factors seem questionable, change your policies and practices. There are lots of great consultants and experts who can help you do this analysis but you can also accomplish it internally.
Bottom Line
What should you do if you find an inequity? Make a change now. The Equal Pay Act has a two year statute of limitations for non-willful claims, and a three year statute of limitations for willful claims. It is therefore to your advantage to make changes as soon as possible because every day in which no gap exists means a day less of potential liability if litigation ever takes place. Just as importantly, it is the right thing to do for your workforce as a whole.