Open Letter To New York Elected Officials on the 7th Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Act
On January 29, 2016, the 7th anniversary of the day President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, New Yorkers can be proud of the progress made last year toward wage equity. Last week S.1/A.6075 – important equal pay legislation which was proposed by Governor Cuomo, hailed by the public, and passed unanimously by the NYS legislature – became law.
As we celebrate this outstanding success, the Equal Pay Campaign, a project ofPowHer New York (PowHerNY), calls for our elected officials to take the next critical steps to tackle and close the persistent gender wage and opportunity gap.
In recognition of the Ledbetter Act Anniversary, 20 state legislatures are introducing equal pay bills as part of a national “Equal Pay Can’t Wait” campaign. New York is ahead of the pack with our new 2015 law, but there are no easy answers to ending historic, pervasive discrimination. We all have more work to do.
New York’s new law gives workers more rights and protections to fight wage inequity, but S.1/A. 6075 does not require that taxpayer money is used to finance only entities that are in compliance with equal pay laws. Nor does it address historic underpayment of “women’s work” or increase women’s access to the higher paying trade and S.T.E.M. jobs.
To ensure wage and opportunity equity in the public and private sector, PowHerNY Equal Pay Campaign calls on our state leaders to act in 2016 to:
- Evaluate NYS Workforce Equal Wage and Opportunity Practices
- Require NY Contractors to Report Gender Pay Disparities and Board Diversity Data
- Institute Comparable Worth Standards
- Increase Opportunities for Non-Traditional Jobs for Women
- Institute Protections for Flexible Work Schedules
- Limit Salary History Reporting
- As well as provide Paid Family Leave benefits, increase the Minimum Wage, and expand MWBE goals.
Legislation is already introduced in the NYS Legislature which will provide these important solutions to tackle the causes of inequity. In the coming session we challenge our elected officials who championed equal pay legislation in 2015 to finish the work you started.
Thank you for your continued efforts to improve the economic security of women of New York. We look forward to another productive year working together to advance wage equality.
PowHer New York Equal Pay Campaign members
Contact PowHerNY: Beverly Neufeld, President, bev@powherny.org