Taking concrete steps to eliminate the gender wage gap

Sixty-four million women work in America. But women working full-time, year-round earn only 73 cents for every dollar earned by men. Women of color have fared even worse. African American women earn only 64 cents for every dollar earned by men. Hispanic women earn only 55 cents for every dollar earned by a white man. An earnings gap exists between women and men across a wide range of occupations. In 2001, for example, women physicians earned 68 percent of the median weekly wages of male physicians. Women in sales earned only about 62 percent of the wages of men in equivalent positions. Women in construction earned 71 percent of what their male counterparts earned. A 1999 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that between one quarter and one-half of the wage gap is due solely to differences in pay between men and women working in the same establishments and in similar jobs.

The gender wage gap has substantially decreased during the last twenty years, but progress in reducing the pay gap has slowed since the early 1990s. This issue is especially critical for the 7.6 million single mothers - 22 percent of all families with children. President Bush has not taken steps to close the gender wage gap. Wes Clark has a simple plan to ensure that men and women doing the same job receive the same pay by:

1. Increasing Penalties for Wage Discrimination

2. Improving Pay for Women

3. Supporting Working Women

INCREASING PENALTIES FOR WAGE DISCRIMINATION

The Equal Pay Act, enacted nearly 40 years ago, made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who hold the same job and do the same work. This Act has played a critical role in helping to close the gender wage gap, but a substantial gap still remains. Further steps are needed to close the remaining gap. Wes Clark supports the Paycheck Fairness Act. He will:

• Increase financial penalties for employers that discriminate against women. Gender-based wage discrimination should be treated the same way as discrimination based on race or ethnicity. Wes Clark would toughen the remedies available to women discriminated against by their employers by allowing prevailing plaintiffs to recover compensatory and punitive damages. Currently the Equal Pay Act only allows women to recover liquidated damages and back pay awards.

• Make it easier for women to build a case against discriminatory employers. Currently the law allows employers to defend against wage discrimination suits by asserting that wage differences between men and women are based on almost any factor other than gender-including a male worker's stronger negotiating skills or higher previous salaries. Wes Clark supports changing the law so that employers can only justify pay differences based on factors related to job performance such as differences in education, training or experience. Wes Clark would also clarify the current law so that women making less than men in the same company can use evidence of salaries of company employees in different offices.

• Enhance data reporting to eliminate discrimination. Wes Clark supports legislation that would require employers to submit pay data by the race, sex, and national origin of employees thereby enhancing the enforcement agencies' ability to detect violations of the law and improving its enforcement. Wes Clark would prohibit employers from punishing employees for sharing salary information with their co-workers.

IMPROVING PAY FOR WOMEN

Wes Clark is committed to the alleviation of poverty for women, children, minorities, and families throughout the nation. The gender wage gap is partially explained by the concentration of women in low-paying jobs. Women are far more likely than men to work in service and clerical jobs. Wes Clark will:

• Increase the minimum wage since the majority of minimum wage workers are women. In order to provide for their children, parents need jobs that pay a livable wage. Wes Clark will work to increase the minimum wage to $7 dollars an hour by 2007. This policy will disproportionately benefit women because sixty-three percent of those who receive the minimum wage are women.

• Promote Families First Tax Reform to benefit women. Wes Clark has a simple, fair and progressive tax reform to increase the reward for work. His plan would eliminate taxes for a family of four making up to $50,000 - and provide substantial additional income to help single mothers raise their children.

• Address the imbalance in education and job training for women. Women often receive less on the job training than their male counterparts. Wes Clark is committed to expanding educational opportunities for women through a $6,000 Universal College Grant and to expanding job training with an emphasis on women.

SUPPORTING WORKING WOMEN

Americans, women and men, are the hardest and most dedicated workers in the world-and it seems like we're working longer and longer hours for less. Wes Clark understands the pressure that puts on families. In the Army Wes Clark learned that a soldier, woman or man, didn't perform to his or her full potential when they were worried about caring for and providing for family or children. He will work to provide American workers the flexibility they need to be productive and take care of their families. Wes Clark will:

• Expand Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to businesses with 25 or more employees. Millions of workers are unable to take leave to care for a sick loved one or a new baby because they cannot afford it or because their employer is too small to be covered. Wes Clark supports expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to include businesses with 25 or more employees (currently it applies only to businesses with 50 or more employees)-making 13 million more working people eligible to take leave to care for a new baby, sick child or family member.

• Expand the FMLA to cover routine school and medical appointments and appointments related to domestic violence. Currently the FMLA does not cover routine school and medical appointments and appointments related to domestic violence. Wes Clark would fight for legislation to change that and ensure that men and women can get leave for these purposes.

• Provide paid leave for employees. Millions of workers cannot take leave because they cannot afford it. Wes Clark will work to provide a reasonable amount of paid leave for employees who need it.

• Increase funding for child care, provide preschool for all children and expand Head Start. Wes Clark believes that all of America's children deserve a fair start. Wes Clark supports substantially increasing funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant to expand access to child care to new families and support quality improvements. Too many children today enter school already far behind. Forty-six percent of kindergarten teachers report that half or more of their class lacks one or more basic school readiness skills. Wes Clark will offer pre-school for all four year olds and a growing number of three year olds who want it. In addition, he will immediately expand Head Start to one million students and move towards fully funding it.