A discussion with U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau: what women need to know about the gender wage gap

Understanding the intersection of gender and pay inequality can help address women's known and unknown obstacles in getting paid fairly for equal work.

The U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau called on FIU's Office to Advance Women, Equity and Diversity to weigh in on the topic to kick off its Equal Pay 101 webinar series, held in recognition of Equal Pay Day on March 7; the day symbolizes how far into the next year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year.

The series provides an overview of the gender and racial wage gap, a historical overview of equal pay and offers a discussion on legislative and private sector advances. The first webinar, featuring FIU, inspired policymakers, state administrators and employers located throughout the regions. Associate Provost Suzanna Rose spoke with a panel of federal and state-level wage gap professionals, including members of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Equal Rights Advocates organization.

Rose — a professor of psychology and women’s and gender studies — offered insight into the historic devaluation of women. She said girls learn to devalue their work from an early age, and women need to learn strategies for negotiating equal pay and the importance of women's unpaid work. A stay-at-home married woman with two children is estimated to work 98 hours per week, and her work is valued at $178,000 annually.

"It is almost impossible to account for all of the hours women put into housework and child care. It's a full-time job that is often ignored, even by economists," Rose added. 

The next steps, panelists agreed, are guidelines, protocols and procedures for moving forward with unequal pay claims. FIU's Salary Equity Program for faculty managed by Rose was touted for resulting in 84 salary adjustments, primarily for women professors at FIU.

Another common thread among panelists was the importance of advocacy, recognition and laws. In the Bureau's "Bearing the Cost" report, it is estimated that "occupational segregation" creates the inequities that contributed to the $39.3 billion of lost wages for Black women and the $46.7 billion of lost wages for Hispanic women in 2020. Some of the causes of "occupational segregation" include uneven family caregiving responsibilities, wealth gaps, workplace culture and harassment.

Founded in 1920, The U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau is the only federal agency mandated by congress to represent the needs of wage-earning women, including the gender pay gap. 

For more information from the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau, visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb

For information on FIU Office to Advance Women, Equity, and Diversity and the services offered, contact awed@fiu.edu