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Editorial Page

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to submit this statement for the record on equal pay - an issue of critical importance not only to working women, but to families, communities and our nation as a whole.

The Equal Pay Act, Executive Order 11246, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and other Federal laws laid the foundation for women to be rewarded for their efforts, free from discrimination. While working women have made great strides, there is much more ground to cover before the discrimination that women suffer from is eliminated. As we move into the new century, we must all renew our efforts for equity and vigorously enforce our laws against wage discrimination.

Since its inception, the Women's Bureau has been concerned about equal pay for women. The Bureau's first publication setting forth Standards for the Employment of Women in Industry included the provision that "wages should be established on the basis of occupation and not on the basis of sex." Prior to the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1963, the Women's Bureau was furnishing technical services and various materials on equal pay at the request of women's organizations, unions, Members of Congress, and other groups interested in furthering the equal pay principle.

Today, as I submit this statement, the Women's Bureau remains committed to helping women achieve equal pay. Wherever I go, working women tell me that pay is one of their biggest workplace concerns and that they feel that they are not fairly paid for their work. And we must remember that women's earnings are important not just for them but to their family's income. When women are not paid equally, the whole family suffers. Nearly one in five U.S. families is headed by a single woman. In more than one-half of married couple families, both husband and wife work, and nearly 7 out of 10 women with children work. Working women are entitled to equal employment opportunity on the job and to pay that is free of discrimination, including the right to equal pay for equal work.

More women in the United States are in the labor force than ever before -- 65 million. Yet women often are not paid as much as men for the work they do. While the size of the wage gap varies depending on occupation, 1999 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show that the median weekly wage and salary earnings of women working full-time were only 76.5 of that for men in comparable situations.

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Moreover, this economic disparity does not end when women stop working. The average woman retiring from the labor force can expect to receive about half the pension benefits of the average man doing so--that is, if she gets a pension from her own work at all. Only two women receive private pensions for every three men who do so. It is, therefore, not surprising that the poverty rate among women over 65, 12.8 percent, is almost twice the rate for men over the age of 65, 7.2 percent.

The wage gap between men and women has narrowed, but despite these gains, the battle for equal pay for women is far from over. Although 37 years have passed since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, the average woman today must still work an additional 17 weeks a year to earn what the average man earns. That pay gap is wider for older women, and is widest for women of color. African American women earn 64 cents for every dollar earned by white men, and Hispanic women earn just 55 cents. While some of these disparities can be attributed to differences in education, experience, and occupation--which themselves often reflect troubling inequities--several studies confirm that a significant pay gap persists even after we account for these factors.

According to the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), a detailed longitudinal study found that in the late 1980's, about one-third of the gender pay gap was statistically explained by differences in the skills and experience that women bring to the labor market and about 28 percent was due to differences in industry, occupation, and union status among men and women. The remaining approximately 40 percent of the gap (or 12 cents of the 25 cents on the dollar of the pay gap) was "unexplained." Discrimination and a variety of other factors could explain this gap.

As discussed above, some of the wage gap between women and men is the result of the occupations in which many women work. Women who work in "traditional" female occupations often find their wages are low and their opportunities for advancement are limited. In 1999, the largest share of employed women, about 40 percent, worked in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations. Nearly two thirds of all persons employed in these occupations are women. Even in these lower-paying, predominately female jobs, we find women earn less than men. For example, female cashiers earn 93 percent of what male cashiers earn.

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Although women have made progress in entering some high-paying, male-dominated fields, men still outnumber women by more than two-to-one in many "high-tech" occupations -- occupations that pay about 80 percent above what average jobs pay, according to a CEA study. Yet even when women do break into these nontraditional fields, they are not paid the same as their male counterparts. For example, a BLS report on women's 1999 earnings shows that women who work as computer systems analysts and scientists earn only 84 percent of what men earn in these fields and women who work as engineers earn only 88 percent of what male engineers earn. Now, as women are getting the technical training that only men once had, women's ranks in high-tech fields should increase.

Unfortunately, there are examples of discrimination throughout the workforce. Cases brought and settled by the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, for example, clearly show that discrimination continues to be a problem for women workers. In 1999, OFCCP recovered more than $15 million for approximately 11,000 women and minorities in cases alleging that they were victims of pay or glass ceiling discrimination. Some of their recent discrimination cases include: Texaco, Inc. (NY), which agreed to pay $3.1 million to resolve a pay discrimination action involving 186 women who were paid less than their male counterparts; Kohler Corporation (WI), which agreed to pay nearly $900,000 as part of a settlement to resolve a claim of discriminatory hiring practices affecting more than 2,000 women denied employment in non-traditional blue collar jobs; and Boeing Corporation (WA), which has agreed to pay more than $4.5 million in back pay for women and minorities, conduct company wide self-audits, and make across the board salary adjustments. I believe that cases like these show that discrimination is a reality for too many of America's working women.

It is not just through enforcement efforts that we find evidence of discrimination. Individual experiences can be revealing too. As I travel the country, women tell me again and again about their struggles to overcome the barriers they face in trying to get good jobs that pay fair wages.

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During my Equal Pay Tour around the country, one woman in the City of Boston, shared her story of pay discrimination with us. She said, "I'm college educated... I am a victim of unequal pay. I've always done payroll for the companies I have worked for, and I have always known what everyone has been paid.... Recently, I learned, at the new company I was with, that I was earning $23,000 to $60,000 less than the men in the equivalent positions. That did not take into effect the inequalities of the pension. Women were only getting five percent match, while the men were getting 35 percent. Health insurance premiums were not equal. Men's [premiums] were being paid at 100 percent; women got 50 percent of the single rate. And there were many other benefits that went on this way. I was fired when I tried to educate [the owner about] the inequities. . ."

This Administration is fighting to eliminate the pay gap through increased enforcement of our laws, more training for women in highly paid, "non-traditional" jobs, better awareness of the impact of discrimination, as well as by actions that promote better pay for all workers, such as expanded labor market information for job seekers. On January 24th, President Clinton proposed a $27 million Equal Pay Initiative, which would provide $10 million to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for efforts to address wage discrimination. It would also allocate $17 million to the Labor Department for its efforts, including training women in high-paying non-traditional jobs, such as those in high-tech fields.

The Administration has repeatedly called for passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act. The legislation, H.R. 2397, sponsored by Rep. DeLauro (and Senator Daschle), seeks to improve the enforcement of wage discrimination laws and to strengthen the remedy provisions in the Equal Pay Act by permitting victims of wage discrimination to seek compensatory and punitive damages. Currently, women who are the victims of wage discrimination receive only backpay and liquidated damages, which may not fully compensate them for their loss. This change would mean that the penalties for sex-based wage discrimination will be the same as those for race-based wage discrimination. In addition, the legislation contains a non-retaliation provision that prohibits employers from penalizing employees for sharing information about their salaries with co-workers. The bill also provides for training for EEOC employees on matters involving the discrimination of wages, research on discrimination in the payment of wages, and the establishment of an award to recognize and promote the achievements of employers that have made strides to eliminate pay disparities. Finally, the new data collection provision would call upon the EEOC to issue a regulation to provide for collecting pay information in the most efficient and effective means possible that enhances the enforcement of the federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination.

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In May of this year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the formation of an internal Equal Pay Task Force and the addition of a new section on its Internet website on employment discrimination and compensation. The task force will provide assistance to field enforcement staff in their development of cases involving equal pay and employment discrimination and compensation.

The Women's Bureau has been doing its part as well. In the week leading up to this year's Equal Pay Day, we conducted a five-city Equal Pay Tour. The goal of our town hall meetings was to raise awareness of the wage gap, learn more about women's pay concerns, and collect information on state and local strategies for addressing pay inequity. Many women participants indicated that discriminatory pay practices are still quite evident in the workplace. However, we found some women are succeeding in improving their pay situations - often with the assistance of innovative training programs, supportive community organizations and committed government entities. The Bureau is also disseminating publications on equal pay: "Women, Work and Wages-How to Get the Job and Pay You Want" and "Tools for Employers-Making Equal Pay a Reality in Your Workplace," both of which are posted on the Bureau's website.

As noted above, one critical means of bridging the pay gap is to encourage women to enter nontraditional occupations. Through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program (WANTO), the Bureau has had the opportunity to fight occupational discrimination and segregation by providing technical assistance grants to community-based organizations to prepare employers and labor unions to increase employment opportunities for women. This program has allowed the Bureau to build strategic working relations with employers and labor unions that help women train for, enter, and retain apprenticeships and high-paying nontraditional jobs. In addition, the Bureau is partnering with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to raise the awareness of young women in high school about rewarding career opportunities in information technology, math, science and engineering. During the summer and fall of 2000, the two agencies are holding a series of national and regional programs to bring these young women together with women already succeeding in these fields.

The Women's Bureau is also working to elevate the value of traditionally female-dominated jobs, for example, by professionalizing the image of child care workers. The Women's Bureau will utilize the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT) child care center-based apprenticeship model to place women transitioning off welfare into a child care training program. The training program will be operated by a licensed child-care provider who will place these women into permanent jobs that pay above minimum wages and provide benefits.

Since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, tens of millions of women have joined the labor force. Today, they account for nearly half of all workers and represent a significant segment of the educated and skilled work force. Women have been a force behind innovations in how and where we work, such as job sharing, flexible workplaces, and on-site childcare. Equal pay for equal work has been, and continues to be, not only the right moral action to take, but beneficial for our Nation's families and our Nation's economy.

Equal pay matters. It is about food on the table, clothes for the kids, transportation to work, and a decent place to live. Equal pay is at the heart of critical issues that affect all of our lives, including savings, pensions, debt, credit, retirement, health care and child care. It is also good business, particularly at a time of labor shortages and when workers' attachment to their employers has weakened. Equal pay is essential to attracting the best workers and keeping America competitive in this global economy.

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