DOL's Women's Bureau has launched the Fair Pay Clearinghouse, a new
initiative created in response to concerns voiced by over 250,000 working women
in the Bureau's 1994 national Working Women Count! survey.
The Fair Pay Clearinghouse provides information and resources to working women
and men, employers and other organizations who are concerned about fair pay. You
can find out what organizations are working for fair pay in your state and
nationally; get information on pay
adjustments by employers who have implemented fair pay in traditionally female
jobs; and review current data on the wage gap between women and men.
"Women across the country told the Labor Department they are not getting paid
what they deserve-- or what they need to support their families," says Labor
Secretary Robert B.Reich. "Working women want their true value reflected in
their paychecks, but all too often feel it is not. The Clearinghouse offers
important resources to working women and others who are concerned about
the way women's work is valued."
Access to the Fair Pay Clearinghouse is FREE. Workers, employers and
organizations should call 1-800- 347-3741 (or visit us at our Internet website:
http://www.dol.gov/dol/wb). The Women's Bureau also strongly encourages
employers who have made pay adjustments and organizations working on the fair
pay issue to call and share information on their efforts in traditionally female
jobs.
"Improving pay scales is a top concern of America's working women and a top
priority for the Women's Bureau," says Bureau head Ida L. Castro.
Three out of four American women working full and part time get paid less
than $25,000 a year;
About half of all women work in traditionally female, relatively-low
paid jobs, as clerical workers, nurses, and child care workers; and
Women retirees receive only one-half the average pension benefit
received by men, in part because of a lifetime of unequal pay.
The Clearinghouse has information on traditionally female occupations; how
working women of different races, ethnic origins, ages and educational
backgrounds are paid; and how women who are represented by a union are paid.
Callers can also request two Fair Pay Clearinghouse publications. "Worth More
Than We Earn: Fair Pay for Working Women," is an introduction to the wage gap,
what causes it, how it increases over a working woman's lifespan and what
employers, unions and working women are doing to close this gap. "What Works:
Fair Pay for Working Women," profiles employers
across the country -- including states, counties, cities and private employers -
- who have improved pay scales for women (and men) in traditionally female jobs
by reducing or eliminating the role of gender and of race in wage-setting.
Forwarded by KatherinH@edc.org