Marking Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, female lawmakers sounded the alarm about the status of working women in California: From inequality in wages to lack of family friendly workplaces, the California Legislative Women’s Caucus says things have to change. And they have proposed legislation to do that.
Studies show that working women in California earn about 80 cents for every dollar men earn. The pay gap is larger for African-American and Hispanic women. To help combat that, Assemblywoman Susan Eggman has introduced a bill that would prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their salary history. Eggman said fields that women have historically worked in, like teaching or nursing, tend to pay less.
“Not only do we undervalue women in the workplace, but we undervalue the work that women do,” Eggman said. “So if somebody goes from a traditional women’s type of employment into, say, law enforcement, if they have to look at what you were paid before and then compare it to what a man is paid, you’re never going to be equal.”