Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D-Babylon) announced that she helped pass a series of bills targeting wage inequality and gender discrimination to help ensure women earn equal pay for equal work. The Assembly package includes a resolution recognizing April 10 as Equal Pay Day, which represents how far into the year women must work to earn the same amount their male counterparts earned the previous year (K.995).

“As a woman and a mother, it’s disheartening to still be fighting for equal pay in 2018,” Jean-Pierre said. “Our mothers and grandmothers fought for pay equity and equal rights, and I’ve taken the helm so my daughter won’t have to experience discrimination and injustice.”

The pay gap cheats women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of their lifetimes and puts women at a disadvantage, Jean-Pierre noted. New York State is closest to achieving equal pay. On average, women nationally earn 80 cents on the dollar when compared to men while women in New York earn 89 cents on the dollar compared to men. Nationally, African-American and Latina women fare worse, earning 63 cents and 54 cents, respectively, compared to their white male counterparts.1

Among the measures Jean-Pierre helped pass is the New York State Fair Pay Act, which addresses and enforces pay equity, including broadening equal pay protections to include equivalent jobs and ensuring that traditional female and minority jobs are not undervalued (A.4696). The legislative package also includes a measure prohibiting employers from requesting, requiring or seeking a current or prospective employee’s salary or wage history as a condition of employment or promotion (A.2040-C). Additionally, the Assembly passed legislation that would implement a state policy of wage equality for state and municipal employees, as well as direct the Civil Service Commission to study and publish a report evaluating wage disparities among public employees in order to establish where and how inequities exist (A.658, A.2549).

The package also includes legislation to ensure the state complies with the federal Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Civil Rights Act of 1964 and gives public employees a private right of action to sue for compensation and enforce equal pay disparities (A.2425).

“Far too many women are underpaid and undervalued for their hard work and that’s simply not acceptable. I wouldn’t want that for my daughter or for any woman in the workforce,” Jean-Pierre said. “As a woman of color, I see the wide gaps and hurdles so many of us have to clear, and I’ll always fight to break down barriers and make equality a reality rather than a fantasy.”

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1. aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap