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Statement

Trump Rollback of Equal Pay Data Collection ‘Shameful,’ Will Undercut Efforts to Promote Fair Pay

August 30, 2017
Equal Pay

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and executive director of MomsRising, an online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families
“Last night, in another shameful action, the Trump administration halted an initiative designed to advance fair pay for women and workers of color. The pay data the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was about to begin collecting was designed to help uncover discrimination by requiring employers to collect and report wages by job category, sex, race and ethnicity. Ending this data collection is an assault on fair pay and will undercut efforts to close the wage gap and advance women and minorities in the workplace.
 
“Even though it has been more than 50 years since the Equal Pay Act became law, women are only paid, on average, 80 cents for every dollar paid to white men. Mothers face an even greater wage gap of 71 cents for every dollar paid to fathers, and the gap for moms of color and single moms is even more punishing. The administration’s action will undermine efforts to close the wage gap, denying relief to tens of millions of women, many of whom are the sole breadwinners for their families. It also will perpetuate the damage the wage gap causes to our economy.
 
“The Office of Management and Budget’s claim that this change is meant only to ease the burden on employers and will not impede efforts to boost equal pay is insulting. This commonsense rule resulted from a years-long effort to bolster economic opportunity for women and people of color. We call on the Trump administration to reverse this decision, support the Paycheck Fairness Act, and commit to ending the wage gap once and for all.”
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.