Speak Up for Fair Pay

AAUW e-advocates have stood hand-in-hand with Lilly Ledbetter and Betty Dukes as they fought for fair pay against some of the largest employers in the United States. As courageous as they have been, women like them shouldn't have to go at it alone.

It's time that Lilly, Betty and other victims of pay discrimination have some back-up.Take action: Tell the Department of Labor to help protect women from unfair pay!

The Department of Labor is currently considering creating a new compensation data tool that would make it easier to enforce laws that prohibit pay discrimination. Since 2006, the federal government has had NO tool to effectively monitor wage discrimination based on race, national origin and gender by private employers. This means that our tax dollars could possibly be going to federal contractors who are not paying women fairly. That's unacceptable, and if you raise your voice, this sort of discrimination can be stopped.

Note: The comments you submit will be processed by the appropriate agency and then made publicly available on Regulations.gov.

To send the Department of Labor a message, follow these instructions:

Step One: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=OFCCP-2011-0005-0001

Step Two: Fill in your contact information on the left hand side of the page.

Step Three: Copy and paste the following message into the form and edit it. A personalized message can make the biggest impact as the Department of Labor considers the implementation of this new anti-discrimination tool.

I strongly support the development and implementation of a compensation data collection survey that would make it easier to enforce laws that prohibit pay discrimination.

In developing the compensation tool, I urge the Department to:

• Require that federal contractors submit compensation information for all workers and in a wide range of categories, including workers that are part-time;
• Require that the Department conduct compensation reviews for companies that have more than one location to address companywide discrimination;
• Require that businesses bidding on federal contracts submit compensation data as a part of the bidding process. Federal tax dollars should not be wasted on companies that unlawfully discriminate against its workers; and
• Include comprehensive data that highlights gender, racial and ethnic disparities not only in pay, but also in hiring, terminations, promotions and tenure. Pay discrimination is often inextricably intertwined with other practices prohibited by employment discrimination laws.

The wage gap has been stuck at 77 cents for the past three years, despite important laws that prohibit gender discrimination in compensation. Collecting this data would be a critical step. As a fair pay advocate, I urge you to develop and implement the compensation data collection survey.

Step Four: Review your message then click the orange "submit" button!

Start Planning for Equal Pay Day 2012! On April 17, 2012, fair pay advocates nationwide will be observing the day women finally catch up to what men made, on average, in the previous year. Start planning now to make it an Equal Pay Day the candidates can’t ignore!

Remember: You can always help strengthen AAUW's efforts to support fair pay bymaking a tax-deductible donation to AAUW's Public Policy Fund!

Double your impact! Tweet, Facebook, and forward this action alert to friends and family. 

---

Follow AAUW on Twitter, and read our award-winning AAUW Dialog Blog for discussion, information, and advocacy for women and girls! 

General AAUW questions? Please contact connect@aauw.org or call 800/326-2289 between 10 am and 5 pm Eastern, Monday through Friday.