Summer may be the time for vacations but certainly not for those involved in economic equity. From maternity leave to millennial wage gaps and summits on paid family leave check out what you missed this week with our July 1 edition of NYS PowHer’s Economic Equity News.
1. Valerie Jarrett On Gender Pay Gap: Women Are More Important To Family Income Than Ever
Huffington Post- Valerie Jarrett is sick of the “ridiculous” gap between men’s and women’s salaries, and she told HuffPost Live that now is time for a change more than ever.
“This is no longer just a women’s issue, it’s a family issue… A woman’s contribution to the family income is more important than ever,” Jarrett said.
When a woman is underpaid for no other reason than her gender, with fewer funds for household expenses than a male peer, the purchasing power of her entire family is compromised. In an economy still bouncing back from recession, this hardly seems logical.
2. Maternity Leave Policies Around the World
The Atlantic- The U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that does not require some form of paid time off for new mothers. If you’re a woman working in the United States and your employer provides paid maternity leave, consider yourself lucky: Just 11 percent of Americans employed by private industry have access to some sort of paid family leave. For state and government employees, 16 percent can take paid family leave. The U.S. federal government provides no paid family leave to its employees, though they can use their sick days or vacation days that they’ve saved up.
3. Hours, Flexibility, and the Gender Gap in Pay
Center for American Progress- The issues facing workers and their families are currently in the spotlight. The gender wage gap, minimum wage, and expansions of paid leave have all been the subjects of media attention and increasing political action. As part of the conversation about the need to update the nation’s labor standards, considerable attention is focused on the working hours and scheduling of lower-wage workers, particularly hourly workers.
4. Even Among The Youngest People In The Workforce, Men Are Making More Than Women
ThinkProgress– The gender wage gap gets worse as women age, with an acute uptick when they start having children. But that doesn’t mean young women start out on an even playing field.
5. Gender pay equity bill approved by NJ Legislature and sent to governor
NJ.Com- Two bills aimed at preventing employers from paying women less than men who do the same job won final passage in the state Legislature today.
Any company that contracts with the state must report to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development the gender, race, job title and compensation for every employee, according to the bill (S1038). Employees could request this information from the Division on Civil Rights in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
Want this delivered to your inbox? Sign up for our email alerts or follow us on Twitter and Facebook to follow along 24/7.