The Gender Pay Gap Still Exists Today

Equal Pay Day was on March 24, 2021. Equal Pay Day marks the day into the year on which it takes women on average to earn what men did in the previous year. 

Equal Pay Day originated in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men's and women’s wages. Although some progress has been made, there is still more work to be done. Women are still earning on average approximately $0.82 for every dollar a man earns nationally and $0.80 for every dollar a man earns in Oregon, which equates to a woman being paid $48,000 for a job and a man making $60,000 for the same job. There are many data points to suggest that there has been some stagnation and potentially even reversal on closing the gap in the last year with recent disproportional impacts on women leaving the workforce due to COVID-19. This day on the calendar and ratio of pay only represents differences in gender. When we look at other categories such as race, the disproportion is even more glaring.

Oregon's Equal Pay Law went into effect January 2019 and made a great step toward progress. The law states that all employers must compensate jobs of a "comparable character" at the same rate, unless justified by specific factors permitted by the statute. Not only can you not discriminate on the payment of wages, but you also cannot inquire about previous wages to potentially perpetuate previous compensation discrimination. 

With the many employers that we help with this type of work, they typically do not have the intent to discriminate but are surprised at what the results show. It is important to take a thorough look at your organization's pay and advancement practices objectively by analyzing job duties for comparable roles and how your programs are currently administered. In looking at the data, basing your decisions and practices on objectivity is key. 

If you need help with any of this work, we are here to provide resources and can even complete the analysis for you.