Hi!

I just got this email from MomsRising and I knew you’d want to read it too. Here’s the scoop:

Last April President Obama announced an executive action requiring federal contractors -- who get federal tax dollars and employ more than 20% of the United States workforce – to report information to the Department of Labor on what they pay their employees using a compensation data collection tool. The Department of Labor will compile this information to help uncover pay discrepancies, improve enforcement of the pay discrimination laws, and to increase voluntary employer compliance with those laws.

In other words, this executive order will fight wage discrimination!

But now the clock is ticking. We’ve got just two weeks to make sure that the U.S. Department of Labor knows we want the strongest possible tool to help fight unfair pay.

*Tell the Department of Labor you support the compensation data tool!

http://action.momsrising.org/sign/FairPayTool/?source=taf

You can read the full email below.

Take care,
Friend

========== Original Message ==========

Dear Friend,

Whoa! Being a mom is now a greater predictor of wage and hiring discrimination than being a woman. [1] And the U.S. Census just found that women, working full-time, year round make only 78 cents to a man's dollar. [2]

If we’re going to close the wage gap any time soon, we need the right tools.

That's why we are thrilled that last April President Obama announced an executive action requiring federal contractors -- who get federal tax dollars and employ more than 20% of the United States workforce – to report information to the Department of Labor on what they pay their employees using a compensation data collection tool. [3] The Department of Labor will compile this information to help uncover pay discrepancies, improve enforcement of the pay discrimination laws, and to increase voluntary employer compliance with those laws.

In other words, this executive order will fight wage discrimination!

But now the clock is ticking. We’ve got just two weeks to make sure that the U.S. Department of Labor knows we want the strongest possible tool to help fight unfair pay.

*Tell the Department of Labor you support the compensation data tool! http://action.momsrising.org/sign/FairPayTool/?source=taf

This is a big deal. It might sound wonky, but the compensation data tool will help tremendously. The Department of Labor would collect information on wages earned by employees of federal contractors and subcontractors. This information is essential to helping uncover pay discrepancies and giving employees and employers the information they need to end pay discrimination. And it's also essential to giving the Department of Labor the information it needs to make sure employers receiving our tax dollars are following the law.

The maternal wage gap isn't just a “women’s issue” it is a family and national economic security issue.

Unfair pay impacts our overall economy, because when women (who make the majority of purchasing decisions) don't have funds to spend, then our local and national economies (which are fueled by consumer spending) suffer too. And, to be blunt, unfair pay practices also means less money for food, education, housing, and retirement for millions of women and families nationwide.

It affects real people.

Real people like a MomsRising member from Arizona who wrote:

“I have been a single mother for 15 years and made .60 cents on the dollar to my male counterparts. I have been discriminated against and I work for a federal contractor. We have to bring equality to pay and support American families. In my community, over 50% of households are run by single mothers and we make the least amount of money than any other group.”

Knowledge is power. Moms and families need the reassurance that would come from knowing the Department of Labor's new data collection tool is on the job. Since 2006, the federal government has had NO tool to effectively monitor wage discrimination based on race, national origin and gender by private employers – and that is unacceptable.

We can fix the wage gap, but we need the right tools.

We’ve got just two weeks to make sure that the Department of Labor knows we want the strongest possible tool for collecting compensation data to help ensure that federal contractors, receiving taxpayer money, are following the law.

Add your voice now! http://action.momsrising.org/sign/FairPayTool/?source=taf

**And be sure to forward this to your friends and family so they can take action too!

Together we’re a powerful force for women and families.

-Ruth, Kristin and the whole MomsRising.org team



P.S. Getting the strongest compensation data tool is just one step to closing the wage gap. We also need Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. Click here to take action.



[1] "How Cultural Attitudes and Work-Family Policies Combine to Predict Maternal Earnings Cross-Nationally," University of Massachusetts, http://paa2012.princeton.edu/abstracts/120033

[2] U.S. Census, https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2014/demo/p60-249.html

[3] "Obama takes executive action to lift the veil of 'pay secrecy,'" Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/04/08/obama-takes-executive-action-to-lift-the-veil-of-pay-secrecy/