In the realm of American politics and culture, California is known for leading the way on a host of issues, from the environment to the tech boom. Now the Golden State is poised to launch one of the nation’s boldest attempts to fix pay inequality between men and women. The state’s proposed Fair Pay Act, which passed the state Senate on…
In recent Q&A, I talked with Debrah Farnell, a financial advisor, about how she counsels women to make the most of their money (a subject that Kate K. has also posted on recently). I asked her whether she counsels her clients in talking about money at their job. She mentioned that her friend Anne Collier, executive coach and trainer and founder of Arudia,…
On April 15, thousands of workers and their allies rallied for better wages. The Fight for $15 has expanded from a small group of fast food workers to thousands of retail employees, child care workers, home care providers, and adjunct professors. Indeed, news outlets are now reporting on how presidential campaigns will respond to the movement. On this blog, both Inayat Hemani and Jenn Siegel have described the…
With Tax Day looming, it’s easy to overlook another important mid-April date: Equal Pay Day. Today marks the twentieth time Americans will celebrate Equal Pay Day, which was originated by the National Committee on Equal Pay as a date to raise awareness about the gender wage gap. The date falls in April because it symbolizes how far into the following…
My colleague Jennifer Siegel wrote about the Fast Food Forward, or Fight for $15, campaign a few months ago. The campaign calls for fast food restaurants to raise their employees’ wages to $15 an hour. At the time, Jennifer noted some of the victories the movement had achieved in the form of state legislation raising minimum wages. This week, the movement…
Recently, many of my clients and friends have been discussing problems and questions surrounding negotiating their pay. One observed that, after negotiating her starting pay with her employer, her supervisor branded her as a trouble-maker – a reputation that, when she asked for a raise two years later, led to them (wrongfully) terminating her. Along with being incensed at this…
Female workers at the lowest rung of the economic ladder are getting a boost from a growing campaign to raise wages for fast food workers. The Fast Food Forward campaign—also informally known as the “Fight for $15” movement—is calling for an industry wage of $15 an hour, or double the current federal minimum wage of $7.25, as well for the unionization…
Just before Labor Day, whitehouse.gov released a Chart of the Week illustrating that, among college graduates four years after graduation, women earn less than men in nearly every field of study. A salary gap among recent college graduates is disturbing for two reasons. First, it suggests that women are earning less than men right away—even before many of them leave the labor…
Thanks to an executive order signed by President Obama last week, employees who have suffered discrimination, harassment or sexual assault at work may have an easier time getting their day in court. Signed on July 31, the “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order” forbids companies who contract with the federal government from requiring their employees to sign arbitration agreements…
Last week, a federal judge in New York ordered that notice of a lawsuit under the federal Equal Pay Act be sent to at least 7,000 female employees at KPMG—one of the nation’s “Big 4” tax, audit and accounting firms. The lawsuit details how KPMG illegally paid female professionals less than it paid men for the same work (in addition to other discriminatory acts).…