The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is undertaking several agency initiatives to combat gender and racial pay disparities and ensure pay equity in the implementation of various acts, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Chips and Science and Inflation Reduction acts.
“Equal Pay Day – the day of the year when women working in the U.S. finally earn the same amount as men did in the year before – is an unfortunate reminder that historic wage inequity continues,” Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said in a press release issued March 14, the date of Equal Pay Day 2023.
Equal Pay Day in the United States points out the ongoing systemic inequality faced by women, particularly women of color and women with disabilities, according to the release. Women who work full-time and year-round earn an average of 83.7% of what men earn, amounting to a difference of $10,000 per year, the release reported.
"For women working in the U.S., the date of Equal Pay Day isn’t a day of celebration," the agency states in the release. "Rather, the day is a reminder that it takes women 15 months to earn the same amount as men earned in 12 months."
DOL initiatives include a brief published by the Women’s Bureau on the causes of the gender wage gap; the Good Jobs Initiative's practical strategies to increase equal employment opportunities; and the launch of the Mega Construction Project Program to foster equal opportunity in the construction trades workforce by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, according to the release.
The Biden-Harris administration has made unprecedented investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, with the aim of removing barriers that prevent women from obtaining good-paying jobs found in the projects these investments will fund, the release states.
Additionally, the Employment and Training Administration has announced a cooperative agreement of nearly $20 million to support TradesFutures, the National Urban League and their community partners in developing a strategy to substantially increase the number of participants from underrepresented populations in Registered Apprenticeships in the construction industry. The effort will enroll more than 13,000 participants in apprenticeship readiness programs and place at least 7,000 participants in construction industry Registered Apprenticeships, according to the release.
The initiatives put in place by the DOL are intended to promote equal opportunity in the workforce and remove hiring barriers for underrepresented populations, including women and underserved communities, the release states.
The department hopes to enable workers to obtain jobs based on their skills and aptitude, regardless of their gender, race, or ethnicity, to eliminate the wage gap between men and women in the United States by promoting good-paying jobs that follow fair wage-setting practices.
