Portage County Legal News

Lawmakers offer plan to establish gender pay disparity task force

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: May 21, 2013

In an effort to decrease the pay disparity between men and women in Ohio, Reps. Matte Lunacy and Denise Driehaus are pushing for the creation of the Gender Pay Disparity Task Force.

“I think most Ohioans would be troubled to learn that gender pay disparity exists in our state,” said Driehaus, D-Cincinnati. “We need to get to the root of this problem so that fair pay for equal work is the norm.”

House Bill 120 would establish a seven-member task force and require it to determine the extent of the pay disparity between genders in Ohio, identify its cause and develop recommendations for legislative action to decrease the disparity.

According to the American Association of University Women, who used national and state census data to determine 2010 median earnings for full time-workers older than 16, women of all ages, races, ethnic backgrounds and education levels earned less than men while performing similar, if not the same, jobs as men.

On average, the AAUW found that American women earned 77 percent of what men earned in 2010.

An October 2012 report on women’s earnings, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicated a smaller wage gap, 83.6 percent, for Ohio women.

“Ohio women, such as our wives or daughters, must receive equal pay for equal work,” said Lundy, D-Elyria. “Women must be treated with respect in the work place and in their paycheck.”

Lundy said a 2011 analysis, completed by the Center for American Progress, reported that 97 percent of women were in jobs that typically paid men more.

“Certain professions exhibit drastic gender pay gaps,” he said. “For instance, female chief executives, who earn only 69 percent as much as their male counterparts can expect to earn on average $658 less per week than men.”

According to the labor statistics bureau, Lundy said of the 534 professions listed, women on average earn more than men in only seven of them.

“Just last month, April 9, the country recognized Equal Pay Day to call attention to the pay disparity that still exists between men and women in America,” he said.

“The National Partnership for Women and Families recently reported that women working full-time in Cleveland make 77 cents for every dollar paid to men in the area, in Cincinnati it was 79 cents for every dollar, and here in Columbus it was 81 cents for every dollar paid to men.”

HB 120 would require the task force to issue a report of its pay disparity findings and recommendations to the governor, Senate president and House speaker within six months of the bill’s effective date.

Members of the task force would include a member of the House appointed by the House speaker, a member of the House appointed by the minority leader, a Senate member appointed by the Senate president, a Senate member appointed by the minority leader and a member who is licensed to practice law in Ohio and who specializes in labor law appointed by the governor.

Other members would include someone who represents business interests appointed by the governor and a member who represents Ohio women’s organizations appointed by the governor.

At least four of the seven members would have to be women.

The task force would be disbanded upon submission of its report.

“Twenty-three other states have attempted to address the issue of pay disparity,” Lundy said. “With a record number of women in the workforce, and two-thirds of women functioning as primary or co-bread winners for their families, equal pay for women is critical to economic security and economic future of many Ohio families.”

In putting the issue into a larger context, Lundy said gender pay disparity is but one example of a larger cultural problem with “our concept of how women should be viewed and treated in our society.”

“We, as policy makers, have a role in helping to shape and define how women should be treated in Ohio. We should be working to change the culture in our state, where only 23 percent of the members of the House are women compared to a majority of women making up the population,” he said.

“We cannot afford to short change input from women and need to send a strong message that women are essential to the public debate in Ohio and their voices are urgently needed in public forums. The idea that women in Ohio are paid less than men for equal work sends the wrong message.”

Lundy said that when asked, an equal number of 7-year-old boys and girls say they want to be the president of the United States when they grow up.

“However, when you ask 15-year-old boys and girls, we see that a massive gap has occurred over time,” he said. “Why is that? Women only one year out of college, working full time, were paid on average 82 percent of what their male counterparts were paid.”

Lundy went on to say that men have a better chance of entering political office or becoming a company executive.

“Men are much less likely to be judged for promiscuous behavior and have a significantly lower chance of becoming a victim of sexual assault. At least one in four women will become victims of domestic violence. Men do not risk losing their jobs if they decide to become a parent,” he said.

“We’ve created a culture that devalues women in nearly all aspects of our lives: pay certainly, but also in relationships, the workplace, elected office, leadership roles and the way women are portrayed in the media.”

Lundy described HB 120 as a way for Ohioans to “alter the conversation.”

The bill is co-sponsored by more than a dozen lawmakers.

HB 120 is before the House Commerce, Labor and Technology committee.

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