Gender Pay Differences

As one who has been in the forefront on the issue of pay equity, I found myself responding with mixed emotions to your report, which informed us that women still earn only 69 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

On one hand, it’s gratifying that there are enough women doctors, dentists, aerospace engineers and bartenders to even compare their salaries to those of male counterparts. Not very long ago, women’s career aspirations were limited to becoming a teacher, nurse, librarian or secretary.

On the other hand, there’s the feeling that we still have a long way to go to close the gap. In 1985, I led the way to a historic action by the City of Los Angeles in which we removed longstanding pay inequities which undervalued jobs traditionally held by women. As an example, entry-level clerk-typists (mostly female) were paid substantially less than the male-dominated entry classes of warehouse worker or garage attendant.

Through our efforts to evaluate “comparable worth,” we adjusted the pay for secretaries, librarians and other predominantly female job classifications to reflect the skills, experience and degree of responsibility involved in those jobs. We were in the forefront of the movement which has since spread through the public and private sectors, stimulated by court decisions which have supported the “comparable worth” concept.

It would be comforting to know that our daughters will be paid the same as our sons if they choose to follow the same profession. Your study has shown us that we can’t make that assumption--yet. Thanks for keeping us informed and aware of the work that still needs to be done. It galvanizes those of us on the front lines of shaping public policy to redouble our efforts.

JOY PICUS

Los Angeles Councilwoman