AAUW Dialog

Missed yesterday’s live blog of the Paycheck Fairness Act hearing? Read the complete transcript below:

9:04 Good morning one and all!

9:05 and welcome to AAUW’s live-blogging of the
Paycheck Fairness Act hearing

9:05 my name is Adam Zimmerman, and I am AAUW’s
Regulatory Affairs Manager

9:06 it’ll be my pleasure to bring you through
today’s events

9:06 the hearing itself doesn’t begin until 10
AM

9:06 so for the next 54 minutes, i’ll be providing
all the background information you need

9:06 first, the basics

9:07 please feel free to add your questions and
comments throughout today’s event

9:07 we’re hoping to have a running
conversation

9:07 all morning long

9:08 as for the hearing itself

9:08 let’s talk a little bit about the Paycheck
Fairness Act, and why it’s so important to AAUW…not to mention working women
and their families

9:09 according to the latest figures put out by
the U.S. census bureau last september

9:09 the average women earned a mere 77 cents
compared to her male counterpart

9:10 in other words, even in the 21st century,
there’s still a stubborn, pernicious gender pay gap in america

9:10 here’s the link to that census bureau report:

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/014227.html

9:11 now, equal pay for equal work has long been
the law of the land in this country…going back to 1963, when president john
f. kennedy signed the equal pay act into law

9:12 unfortunately, over a nearly a half-century,
that law has never quite lived up to its billing

9:12 here’s a chart that shows the pay gap over
time: http://www.pay-equity.org/info-time.html

9:13 you can see that in 1963, the year the equal
pay act was signed, women earned about 59 cents on the dollar compared to
men

9:13 so we’ve made up about 18 cents over the last
47 years

9:13 in a word, ladies and gentleman, that is
unfair

9:14 much more needs to be done

9:14 and thats why we have the paycheck fairness
act

9:14 http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/paycheckfairness.cfm

9:14 as you can see from our PFA main page

9:14 A much needed updated of the 45-year-old
Equal Pay Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act is a comprehensive bill that would
create stronger incentives for employers to follow the law, empower women to
negotiate for equal pay, and strengthen federal outreach, education and
enforcement efforts.

9:15 in other words, it’s a carrot and stick
approach

9:15 rewarding employers who follow the law, while
penalizing those who violate it

9:15 along with a wide of variety of educational
campaigns, and data collection efforts to monitor our progress

9:16 check out AAUW’s pay equity position paper as
well for a plethora of stats and statistics:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/PayEquity111.pdf

9:17 in addition to our public policy work, by the
way

9:17 our crackerjack research team has put out
reports that delve into the issue further

9:17 one such report came out in 2007, called
Behind the Pay Gap

9:18 http://www.aauw.org/research/upload/behindPayGap.pdf

9:18 here’s the main finding of that report

9:18 AAUW’s recent report, Behind the Pay Gap,
controlled for factors known to affect earnings such as education and training,
parenthood and hours worked, and found that college-educated women still earn
five percent less than men one year out of college and 12 percent less than men
10 years out of college, even when they have the same major and occupation as
their male counterparts

9:19 in other words

9:19 you have a man and a woman

9:19 same education, same job, same training…all
the important factors being equivalent

9:19 and not even a year out school…the
discrimination vis-a-vis their pay has already begun!

9:20 it’s just outrageous

9:20 and when you multiply that pay gap over
time

9:20 say, over a 20- or 30-year career

9:20 as the saying goes…pretty soon you’re
talking about some real money

9:21 from the national committee on pay equity:
Over the past 40 years, the real median earnings of women have fallen short by
an estimated $700,000 to $2 million.

9:21 unbelievable isn’t it?

9:22 $700,000 to $2 million…gone

9:22 because of a discriminatory pay gap

9:22 of course, one of the most famous victims of
pay discrimination was our great friend Lilly Ledbetter

9:22 talk about a fighter

9:23 she worked for decades at a goodyear tire
plan in alabama

9:23 got promotions, increased responsbilities,
really made a career for herself

9:23 only to find out that goodyear had been
shortchanging her all along

9:24 lilly, as we know, refused to take this lying
down

9:24 she did her research, spoke out against the
injustice

9:25 and when goodyear refused to budge

9:25 she sued

9:26 and won at the lower court level

9:27 in fact, she won more than $3 million in
damages

9:27 unfortunately, through the appeals process
and culminating in the unconscionable supreme court ruling against her

9:27 she wound up getting absolutely nothing

9:27 but that still didn’t stop her

9:27 and thanks in large part to her diligent
efforts

9:28 the first bill president obama signed into
law was the lilly ledbetter fair pay act

9:29 a law which reversed that decision, and once
again allowed women their day in court to fight back against pay
discrimination

9:29 http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/AWonderfulDay/

9:29 thats the white house link to the signing
ceremony that day

9:30 you watch the video and read the president’s
remarks

9:30 as the president said that day

9:30 Ultimately, equal pay isn’t just
an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it’s a question
of who we are — and whether we’re truly living up to our fundamental
ideals

9:30 well said, Mr. President

9:31 but as important as that law was…and
is

9:31 it only brought us back to where we were the
day BEFORE the supreme court decision in 2007

9:31 and so, the next logical step in the fight for
pay equity

9:31 you guessed it

9:31 the Paycheck Fairness Act

9:32 here’s the good news

9:32 back in January, when the House of
Representatives passed the ledbetter bill…they also passed PFA

9:32 in fact, the PFA had a large bipartisan
majority than the ledbetter bill

9:33 http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll008.xml

9:34 you can see the house got 256 votes for
pfa

9:34 http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll037.xml

9:34 compared to 250 for ledbetter

9:34 we had hoped back then that the senate would
pass both bills in tandem…alas, that was not to be

9:35 so over the past 15 months or so

9:35 AAUW and our allies have built support for
PFA in the senate

9:36 thanks to all that hard work

9:36 we’re pleased to report that the pfa bill in
the senate is up to 36 cosponsors

9:36 more than one-third of the entire body

9:36 and we’re hoping that today’s hearing will
provide even more momentum

9:36 more talk, more discussion, more
cosponsors…and hopefully more votes!

9:37 the white house, for its part, supports the
bill as well

9:37 so if the senate passes it, it’s going to
become law

9:37 so that’s the endgame

9:37 senate passage

9:37 today’s hearing is definitely a step in the
right direction

9:38 no question about it

9:38 here’s the link for today’s hearing:

http://help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=263e16b9-5056-9502-5db9-e17bfa4f6e01

9:39 you’ll see its being held by the senat’s HELP
committee

9:39 HELP = health, education, labor, and
pensions

9:39 the committee is chaired by sen tom harkin, a
democrat from iowa

9:39 he’ll be running the show today

9:39 you’ll also notice that we have three panels
of witnesses

9:40 first up is a great, great friend of AAUW:
Rep. Rosa DeLauro from the great state of connecticut

9:40 (that’s three greats, in case you were
scoring at home)

9:40 you’d be hard-pressed to find a stauncher
advocate in congress for the pay requity cause than rosa

9:41 in fact, she was the original sponsor of the
paycheck fairness act on the house side

9:41 so we’re really looking forward to her
testimony today

9:41 next up will be stuart ishmaru, acting head
of the EEOC

9:41 EEOC = equal opportunity employment
commission

9:42 the EEOC is responsible for enforcing a
number of antidiscrimination laws

9:42 including the ledbetter act

9:42 and, if it gets enacted, PFA as well

9:42 the EEOC does exceptionally important work
combatting gender and pay discrimination

9:43 so we’re glad to have them at today’s
hearing, lending an important administration voice to the cause

9:43 the third panel contains four witnesses

9:43 one of whom is heather boushey

9:44 heather is a senior economist for the center
for american progress, a leading think tank here in DC

9:44 and she’s also a former AAUW fellow!

9:44 heather was also one of the main authors of
the center’s recent Shriver Report

9:44 a critically important publication that took
a very close and detailed look at the state of working women in america

9:45 you can find it here:

http://www.awomansnation.com/

9:45 the report was centered on one main statistic

9:45 for the first time in american history

9:45 women are now half the paid workforce in
america

9:45 in addition

9:46 two-thirds of all women are either the
primary or co-breadwinners for their families

9:46 in other words

9:46 achieving pay equity isn’t just the moral
thing to do

9:46 it’s the ECONOMIC thing to do

9:47 both for individual families, businesses, and
the nation’s recover as a whole as we emerge from recession

9:47 as we say at aauw, the recovery for the
nation’s middle class begins and ends with good-paying jobs

9:47 http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/PFACurrentEconomy.pdf

9:48 take a look at the fact sheet…you’ll find
more detail about the importance of PFA in this economy

9:48 take a look at this document too, put out by
our good friends at the national women’s law center:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/AAUW_PFA-section_by_-section.pdf

9:48 a section-by-section look at what exactly the
PFA does and how it does it

9:49 well, we’ve covered quite a bit of
background

9:50 the hearing will begin in about 10
minutes

9:50 we’re hoping for a big turnout today among
the committee members

9:50 Democrats by Rank

Tom Harkin (IA)

Christopher Dodd (CT)

Barbara A. Mikulski (MD)

Jeff Bingaman (NM)

Patty Murray (WA)

Jack Reed (RI)

Bernard Sanders (I) (VT)

Sherrod Brown (OH)

Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA)

Kay Hagan (NC)

Jeff Merkley (OR)

Al Franken (MN)

Michael Bennet (CO)

Republicans by Rank

Michael B. Enzi (WY)

Judd Gregg (NH)

Lamar Alexander (TN)

Richard Burr (NC)

Johnny Isakson (GA)

John McCain (AZ)

Orrin G. Hatch (UT)

Lisa Murkowski (AK)

Tom Coburn, M.D. (OK)

Pat Roberts (KS)

9:51 those are your committee members

9:51 we expect a bigger turnout on the democratic
side today

9:51 but we’ll see how that goes

9:51 often during congressional hearings, members
will duck in and out

9:52 there’s usually a good number of hearings
going on at any given time

9:52 and today is certainly no different

9:52 but given the critically important nature of
this particular hearing

9:52 as i said, we’re hoping for good turnout

9:53 hopefully i’ll be able to track down links
for the witnesses statements’

9:53 those usually get posted once the hearing
gets underway, or shortly thereafter

9:53 and of course, we’ll do blow-by-blows of the
Q & A portions

9:53 that’s usually the fun part of these things
anyway!

9:54 the statistics page at blog headquarters
informs me that our readership is expanding

9:54 good morning everyone!

9:54 it’s a beautiful day in dc by the way

9:54 spring has finally sprung

9:54 anyway, as i said earlier

9:55 comments and questions by the viewing
audience are most welcome

9:55 i’ll be doing more than my fair share of
talking today

9:55 so i’d like to hear from you

9:55 here’s a few other links that we provided
earlier

9:56 that will help get you through today’s
events

9:56 our pay equity page:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/payequity.cfm

9:56 our pfa page:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/paycheckfairness.cfm

9:56 our action network letter to senators
encouraging their support for the bill: http://capwiz.com/aauw/issues/alert/?alertid=12819746

9:57 AAUW talking points:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/PFA_talkingPoints_021709.pdf

9:57 PFA in the current economy:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/PFACurrentEconomy.pdf

9:57 our formal letter to the senate:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/PFASenate.pdf

9:58 here’s something cool – a letter lilly
ledbetter herself wrote to the senate: http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/LillyLedbetter2.pdf

9:59 also, i wanted to pass along a few links from
some of our coalition partners and friends in this fight

9:59 Check out Rep. DeLauro rallying the troops
for the Paycheck Fairness Act at BPW Foundation’s Congressional Reception last
week and our plug for the hearing tomorrow.

http://youngwomenmisbehavin.com/2010/03/10/rosa-delauro-and-paycheck-fairness/

9:59 BPW = Business and Professional Women’s
Foundation

9:59 they’ll be testifying at today’s hearing as
well

10:00 on the heather boushey panel

10:00 here’s something from the national
association of working women: Linda Meric wrote a Ledbetter
Anniversary/Paycheck Fairness op-ed that appeared in several newspapers –
including the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Here’s the link

http://www.ajc.com/hotjobs/content/printedition/2010/02/07/mericed02071.html

10:02 and here’s the sign-on letter for the
paycheck fairness act:

http://action.nwlc.org/site/Survey?SURVEY_ID=5741&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS

10:02 and a letter describing its importance from
our friends at WOW:

http://www.wowonline.org/publicpolicy/takeaction/documents/PaycheckFarinessSignonLetter_April2009.pdf

10:02 WOW = Wider Opportunities for Women

10:02 let’s see, what else do we have here at Blog
HQ

10:03 Coalition of Labor Union Women’s homepage:
www.cluw.org

TELL THE SENATE: END PAY DISCRIMINATION NOW!

One year ago, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became law. While this was a
great victory, CLUW calls on the Senate to take the next step and pass the
Paycheck Fairness Act. Please call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121
and ask for your senators’ offices. Thank those who have already co-sponsored
the Paycheck Fairness Act and urge the rest to support this critical
legislation today.

10:03 well, our readership has doubled in the past
five minutes

10:04 which is great, because the hearing has just
begun!

10:04 tom harkin, the committee chairman, is making
his opening statement

10:04 talking about the stalled progress of gender
pay equity

10:04 he just mentioned the 77 cents figure

10:04 its even worse for women of color

10:05 its even lower for african-american and
hispanic women

10:06 harkin mentioning that women will soon
outnumber men in the paid workforce

10:06 that’s pretty amazing

10:06 again, questions and comments are welcome
from the viewing audience

10:07 harkin just mentioned senators dodd and
mikulski

10:07 as leaders in the fight on the senate
side

10:07 fortunately, they’re both on the HELP
committee

10:07 we look forward to hearing from them today
for sure

10:08 harkin’s talking about the ‘undervalue’ if
traditionally women-dominated jobs

10:08 teachers, nurses, social worker, child care
worker, etc

10:09 all jobs traditionally held by women, and all
not very well compensated

10:09 on the other hand

10:09 fields among the so-called STEM professions -
science, technology, education, and math

10:09 tend to pay much better

10:09 but women and girls have been far outnumbered
in those fields by men

10:10 here’s our position paper on that topic as
well:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/STEM111_022010.pdf

10:10 tom harkin has concluded

10:10 next up is mike enzi, republican from wyoming
and the committee’s ranking member

10:11 harkin believes that women have been
commonplace in all levels at the workplace

10:11 well, hardly

10:11 women are about 3 percent of fortune 500
CEOs

10:12 not to mention less than 20 percent of
congress

10:12 enzi believes that the pay gap is due more to
women’s choices

10:12 as opposed to discrimination

10:12 he’s arguing that laws on the books are
sufficient

10:13 instead of PFA, he said we need more job
training and to fix the economy

10:13 well, sure

10:13 PFA is part and parcel, isn’t it?

10:13 PFA will train both employees and employers
about the law

10:14 and as we already talked about, PFA will play
a critical role in economic recovery

10:15 wyoming, ironically, is the state that first
gave women the right to vote

10:15 prior to the 19th amendment

10:15 this year is actually the 90th anniversary of
the 19th amendment, which of course gave all american women the right to
vote

10:17 AAUW’s director of public policy and
government relations, lisa maatz, is inside the hearing room today

10:17 picture is harkin and enzi this morning

10:17 crowded hearing room today!

10:17 excellent

10:18 he thinks pfa would make it too costly for
employers to hire

10:18 and would provide for a spoke in
litigation

10:19 claims the only jobs this bill would create
is for trial lawyers

10:19 says it would be too burdensome for
employers

10:19 would turn the economy down a disastrous
road

10:20 senator enzi is up

10:20 sen. dodd’s turn

10:20 this ought to be much easier on the ears, to
say the least

10:21 [Comment From J. JohnsonJ. Johnson: ]

claim that bill would create jobs for trial lawyers is the same claim made
again Lilly Ledbetter Act. Didn’t occur. Should be able to get statistics to
prove that hasn’t happened.

10:21 good point

10:22 the trial lawyer claim is an old talking
point that often gets dusted off for hearings such as this

10:22 and you know what? if employers follow the
law, there’d be no reason to sue

10:23 lilly ledbetter didn’t set out to file a
lawsuit when she started working at the goodyear plant

10:23 and she wouldn’t have had to if goodyear had
done what it was supposed to do

10:23 both dodd and harkin have talked about the
findings of our Behind the Pay Gap report

10:23 that even when your heed all the relevant factors

10:24 there’s still a pay gap thats
unexplainable

10:24 or rather, discriminatory

10:24 you can also follow Lisa’s tweets from the
hearing: http://twitter.com/Lisamaatz

10:25 as dodd says, the wage gap is an
anachronism

10:25 lisa reports from inside the hearing room:
Its jam packed, standing room only. Lots of pass pfa stickers…also good rep
by coalition partners…FM, NWLC, ACLU, yWCA, NOW, BPW

10:25 that’s terrific to hear

10:26 as i mentioned this morning, we’ve got a
powerhouse coalition working on this with us

10:27 dodd mentioning women in the military

10:27 20 percent of the air force is now women

10:27 he makes the point that our military
functions with an equal pay scale

10:27 so too should civilian society

10:27 rosa delauro is up now

10:28 lisa reports that in addition to dodd and
harkin

10:28 sens sherrod brown and bob casey are in the
room

10:28 from ohioh and PA, respectively

10:28 both cosponsors of the bill

10:29 glad they’re there

10:29 rosa mentions that women are responsible for
80 percent of consumer decision-making

10:30 women’s wages determine retirement
benefits

10:30 great point

10:30 not only do you have that large salary gap
over time

10:30 but your wages determine your social security
benefit when you retire

10:30 you even when a woman stops working…she’s
still negatively impacted by the wage gap!

10:30 just think about that for a minute

10:31 no surprise, then, that the strong majority
of older americans living in poverty are women

10:31 sens milkulski, hagan, and merkely are all in
the hearing room

10:31 so far, enzi is still the only
republican

10:32 mikulski, of course, is a major sponsor of PFA

10:32 a real fighter

10:32 al franken is there as well

10:32 nice turnout on the dem side

10:32 rosa is talking about lilly’s story

10:33 did you know lilly was tipped off about her
wage discrimination by an anonymous note put in her mailbox?

10:33 one of the provisions of the PFA ensures no
retaliation allowed for employees who discuss their wages with others

10:33 sometimes sharing of information like that
can be so important

10:34 johnny isakson from georgia has arrived…republican

10:34 rosa just gave a shoutout to AAUW for our
endorsement!

10:35 wow…rosa first introduced this bill 13
years ago

10:35 incredible

10:35 well, we’ve never been closer…the time is
now!

10:36 13 years ago, your humble correspondent was
toiling away at freshman year of high school

10:36 how far we’ve ALL come!

10:36 rosa concludes her fiery statement

10:36 fantastic job

10:37 harkin thanks her for her passion

10:37 so does AAUW

10:37 rosa has departed

10:37 next up is stuart ishamaru from the EEOC

10:38 as i mentioned earlier, the EEOC enforces
several antidiscrimination laws

10:38 including the ledbetter act

10:38 and, if it passes, the PFA

10:38 i’ve heard him speak before

10:38 he’s a good man

10:38 its the new american workplace

10:39 he’s talking about the shriver report

10:40 women as caregivers face strident
discrimination as well

10:40 he’s proud that the EEOC has adopted
caregiver guidance dealing with the issue of caregiver discrimination

10:41 AAUW, for one, likes to see a proactive
EEOC

10:41 correctly asserts that gender pay
discrimination has no place in this economy

10:42 over the past three years

10:43 there’s been a 30 percent rise in sex
discrimination claims filed with the eeoc with respect to gender pay

10:43 he says the numbers would probably be even
larger if workers were more free to discuss their wages

10:43 i’d agree with that

10:43 one of the reasons pay discrimination is so
pernicious is because it flies under the radare screen

10:44 and possible retaliation against employees is
ever-present

10:44 the pfa would take very important steps to
address that as well

10:45 he makes the point that there areactually
more complaints of pay discrimination in the federal workforce

10:45 and part of the reason is because they are
freer to talk about it

10:45 although the gender pay gap in the federal
government is smaller than the civilian workforce

10:46 important points all around

10:46 harkin asking what in the bill would allow
him to better enforce equal pay law

10:46 he says the wage collection is critical

10:46 they just don’t have enough data

10:47 data collection sure isn’t sexy, but its
importance just cannot be overstated

10:49 enzi’s taking some shots at the eeoc for
‘suing first, and asking questions later’

10:49 on a particular case

10:49 trying to discredit it

10:50 ishmaru notes that the EEOC budget had been
flat for several years

10:50 effectively amount to cuts

10:50 losing both dollars and enforcement
personnel

10:50 they’re trying hard to rebuild

10:50 with a friendlier administration

10:51 says the quality of their legal work is
first-rate

10:52 to show you how long we’ve bene dealing with
the wage gap

10:52 in 1963, when the equal pay act went into
effect…the EEOC didn’t even exist!

10:53 the eeoc was created in 1965 by subsequent
civil rights legislation

10:53 dodd says the eeoc was gutted over the past
several years

10:54 again, both funding-wise and staff-wise

10:54 people like enzi say that additional
legislation of this sort isn’t necessary because there’s already adequate
legislation and enforcement

10:54 but then you turn around and look at the
numbers

10:55 and you discover that the legislation on the
books is inadequate and the funding to enforcement isn’t enough

10:55 ishmaru makes the point that federal salaries
are public record – not the case for much of the private sector

10:56 in the private sector, as we discussed, this
is still often swept under the rug

10:57 he says there are very few claims filed under
the equal pay act

10:57 most come via the civil rights act of
1964

10:57 johnny isakson now asking questions

10:58 isakson was a small business owner back in
the day

10:58 he wants it to go in the record that he never
had a pay discrimination claim filed against him

10:58 that gets a chuckle from the peanut
gallery

10:59 isakson doesn’t like the fact that the pfa
would allow pay discrimination victims to collect punitive damages

11:00 even though that would just bring equal pay
law in line with other civil rights law

11:01 isakson says the threat of
initimidation from the possibility of punitive damages
would hurt business operation and performance

11:01 that’s a laugh

11:01 remember…lilly ledbetter got $3 million
awarded to her is compensatory and punitive damages…and wound up getting not
a nickel of it

11:02 the legal apparatus of a company like
goodyear is more initmidating thana single employee’s attorneys, no?

11:03 barbara mikulski up for questioning

11:03 mikulski says the eeoc has been leadership
starved and revenue deficient

11:03 correct way to put it, unfortunately

11:04 mikulski oversees funding of the eeoc as an
appropriatir

11:04 ishmaru says the eeoc has a backlog of
100,000 cases

11:04 thats enormous

11:04 how do you enforce laws on the
books when you have a backlog of 100,000 cases?!

11:05 ishmaru says a large reaosn for the backlog
is that over the last 8 years, the eeoc lost 25% of its front lines staff

11:05 he says that thanks to funding increases in
2009 and 2010 has already started helping

11:06 mikulski really zeroing in on the need for
additional staff

11:06 not to mention the fact that there are
several commissioner vacancies

11:06 that are being held up in the senate

11:07 they really need more permanent staff and
commissioners

11:08 senator franken now up

11:10 franken’s speaking out against binding
arbitration for discrimination claims

11:11 he’s done a lot of work combatting that
issue

11:11 and AAUW has signed onto to such efforts

11:11 the eeoc stands behind up there as well, in
opposing mandatory binding arbitration in these kinds of matters

11:13 as the ledbetter law makes clear

11:13 victims of pay discrimination deserve to make
their case and have their day in court

11:13 ishmaru is finished now

11:13 dodd says the record will be left open for
written questions

11:14 panel three is about to step up

11:14 Panel III

Heather Boushey , Senior Economist, Center for American Progress, Washington,
DC

Deborah L. Brake , Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh,
PA

Deborah L. Frett , Chief Executive Officer, Business and Professional Women’s
Foundation, Washington, DC

Jane McFetridge , Partner, Jackson Lewis LLP, Chicago, IL

11:14 hopefully we’ll get some good back and forth
here

11:15 some links, as they’re introduced

11:15 pay equity page:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/payequity.cfm

11:15 our pfa page: http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/paycheckfairness.cfm

11:15 our PFA talking points:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/PFA_talkingPoints_021709.pdf

11:15 PFA in the current economy:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/PFACurrentEconomy.pdf

11:16 and the section-by-section look at the bill:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/AAUW_PFA-section_by_-section.pdf

11:16 heather up first

11:17 she’s talking about the fings of the shriver
report

11:17 and the importance of this bill
economically

11:17 the gender pay gap is not just a
women’s issue…it’s a family issue

11:17 women are increasingly breadwinners of their
families

11:17 70% of the job losses from this recession
have been those held by men

11:18 one key part of reducing the pay gap, as we
discussed, is ending the clustering of women in low-paying occupation

11:18 spread the wealth, as the saying goes

11:19 in hiogher-paying occupations, like the
science, technology, engineering, and math fields

11:19 women’s jobs have been
undervalued for so long

11:21 PFA will increase education and data with
respect to wages by gender

11:22 deborah brake up next

11:22 professor of law at pitt

11:24 talking about the difficulty of proving a
discrimination case under the equal pay act

11:24 not quite as easy as the enzis or isaksons
would have you believe

11:24 and hardly some kind of ‘boon’ for trial
lawyers

11:25 several different standards of proof need to
be met

11:25 by the employee

11:25 she’s making the point that women and men
take very different approaches with respect to salary negotiations

11:25 far more men than women, on average,
negotiate starting salary

11:25 that’s part of the training under the
PFA

11:26 part of the reason why women don’t negotiate
is because they already perceive a gender rift

11:26 its insidious

11:26 they don’t negotiate because of
discrimination, and they receive lower pay beceuase they don’t negotiate

11:27 vicious kind of circle

11:27 very interesting testimony about all the
legal hurdles involved

11:27 i’m sure lilly can relate to all of this

11:28 as we say in our Q & A

11:28 It is critical to remember that,
under the Paycheck Fairness Act, the defendant must show “malice” and “reckless
indifference” to the plaintiff’s legal rights in order to obtain punitive damages
– the same standard as under other federal discrimination
laws.

11:29 the pfa, then, simply brings the equal pay
act in line with other civil rights laws

11:29 hardly a radical step to take

11:29 deborah frett now up from BPW

11:30 women-owned firms now represent 30 percent of
all u.s. businesses

11:30 here’s a stat for you: women-owned firms
receive a mere 3.4 percent of all federal contracts

11:31 congress has previously set a goal of five
percent

11:31 hardly a high number

11:31 but that hasn’t even been reached

11:32 check out our affirmative action position
paper for more on that:

http://www.aauw.org/advocacy/issue_advocacy/actionpages/upload/affirmativeaction111.pdf

11:32 estimates project that closing the gender pay
gap would have a substantial positive effect on the nation’s economy

11:33 women-owned firms have actually been shown to
pay wages more fairly than male-owned firms

11:33 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Thanks for this coverage – it’s so important! This legislation is a direct
challenge to the dominant patriarchal construct all legislation has been based
upon, and on which laws have been developed, passed and altered

11:33 thanks for the kind words, Julie

11:34 the gender wage gap has indeed become a
dominant construct over the years

11:34 and we’ve moved at a snail-like pace at
addressing it over the past 50 years

11:34 it’s time to do more, and a whole lot faster
than we’ve done it before

11:34 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

No problem. I’m tweeting some of this information to Student Affairs
professionals as you blog. Hoping to get the word out!

11:35 that’s terrific, thank you…we’ve got to
spread the word as much as possible

11:35 really…families and the economy are
depending on it

11:35 [Comment From Laurie BerryLaurie Berry: ]

Am Tweeting too… as I can.

11:35 thanks Laurie for your help

11:35 we must ensure that all careers
can be pursued by all genders

11:36 thats from deborah frett

11:36 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Absolutely. Supreme Court decision was a travesty.

11:36 certainly was…fortunately, the first bill
that president obama signed into law overturned it

11:36 Jane McFetridge is speaking now

11:36 she’s an attorney who represents companies
and employers in discrimination suits

11:36 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

And Equal Pay Act doesn’t do enough.

11:37 we agree Julie…no surprise there, as it
hasn’t been updated in nearly 50 years

11:37 Lisa Maatz reports: Still standing room only
with staff, coalition and opposition

11:38 Ms. McFetridge argues that this law would
result in damaging and excessive legislation

11:38 parroting while enzi and isaskson have talked
about

11:39 here’s where we stand on the small business
issue

11:39 The Equal Pay Act already has an exemption
for small businesses that make less than $500,000 in annual revenues a year,
and the Paycheck Fairness Act keeps that exemption intact. Thus, the Equal Pay
Act currently applies to most businesses of any size, as would the provisions
of the Paycheck Fairness Act. Women should not completely forfeit protections
against pay discrimination simply because they work for a small employer.

Maintaining
the expectation that small businesses also follow fair pay requirements under
the Equal Pay Act is critical to the long-term goal of pay equity for women.
Given that one out of two workers nationwide works for a small business,
exempting them further would significantly diminish women’s civil rights
protections. It should also be noted that the Paycheck Fairness Act would not
go into effect until six months from the time of enactment, and requires the
Department of Labor to educate small businesses about what is required under
the law and assist them with compliance. Therefore, AAUW opposes adding any
additional small business exemptions to the Paycheck Fairness Act.

11:39 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Ridiculous.
There is no evidence to support this, and the standards to prove any claim
under the PFA are much higher.

11:39 they key phrase here: Women should not completely
forfeit protections against pay discrimination simply because they work for a
small employer.

11:39 particularly with all the current exceptions
in place

11:40 of course, if wage discrimination goes away,
there’d be no reason to file suit

11:40 if a law like the pfa were properly enforced,
it stands to reason that litigation would DROP, not increase

11:40 seems pretty intutitive from this angle

11:41 she claims that the gendr pay gap has
declined ‘steadily’ over the years

11:41 we must have different definitions of
‘steadily’

11:41 18 cents over 47 years!

11:41 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

She obviously
didn’t read the AAUW report from 2007.

11:42 indeed, Julie

11:42 Behind the Pay Gap was a landmark report

11:42 http://www.aauw.org/research/behindPayGap.cfm

11:42 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Yes it was – I
used it in my recent doctoral research. Fabulous resource.

11:43 In the report, Behind the Pay Gap, the AAUW
Educational Foundation found that just one year after college graduation, women
earn only 80 percent of what their male counterparts earn. Ten years after
graduation, women fall further behind, earning only 69 percent of what men
earn. Even after controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other
factors known to affect earnings, the research indicates that one-quarter of
the pay gap remains unexplained and is likely due to sex discrimination. Over
time, the unexplained portion of the pay gap grows.

The
research also shows that ten years after graduation, college-educated men
working full time have more authority in the workplace than do their female
counterparts. Men are more likely to be involved in hiring and firing,
supervising others, and setting pay.

11:43 The report also includes other findings:

* Women who
attended highly selective colleges earn less than men from either highly or
moderately selective colleges and about the same as men from minimally
selective colleges.

* Ten years
after graduation, women are more likely than men to complete some graduate
education.

* Men and
women remain segregated by college major, with women making up 79 percent of
education majors and men making up 82 percent of engineering majors. This
segregation is found in the workplace as well, where women make up 74 percent
of the education field and men make up 84 percent of the engineering and
architecture fields.

11:43 dodd asks her if she supported the ledbetter
law

11:43 after a VERY long pause, she says she
supported components, but not the bill

11:44 heather now talking further about the wage
gap over time

11:44 she just mentioned AAUW research on this
subject

11:45 thanks for the shout-out, Heather!

11:45 remember, median loss earning from the wage
gap over time: $700,000 to $2 million

11:45 and don’t forget lower retirement
benefits

11:46 and it has ripple effects

11:46 harder for women to pay for education

11:46 harder for women to afford healthcare

11:46 harder for women to take time off from work
to care for themselves or families

11:46 its has a pervasive effect on all aspects of
life

11:47 far beyond the paycheck

11:47 Deborah Brake hitting back at the notion that
the wage gap has closed ‘steadily’ over time

11:48 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Fabulous points -
and thank you Senator Dodd for that question!

11:48 yes, Senator dodd has been a leader on this
bill

11:48 he’s doing a strong job cutting through the
other side’s talking points

11:48 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

He’s good
people.

11:48 indeed!

11:49 Brake points out that when lilly ledbetter
achieved the position of plant supervisor…she was the lowest paid among all
the other supervisiors

11:49 she even got paid less than others supposedly
below her on the totem pole

11:50 heather makes the point that during the 80s,
when the wage gaps closed the fastest…it was because men’s wages were
falling, not women’s wages rising

11:50 [Comment From Laurie BerryLaurie Berry: ]

it is hard for me
to fully comprehend that at this day in age that it is not a given that there
is equal pay for equal work

11:50 seriously, Laurie

11:50 on an intellectual level, it’s hard to
fathom

11:50 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Just like
the report says – women start out lower, and never catch up.

11:51 that’s right…it’s uphill at every step of
the way, right through retirement

11:51 pernicious

11:51 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Good word.

11:51 we like to show off our vocabular here at
blog HQ

11:52 vocabulary, i should say

11:52 [Comment From Laurie BerryLaurie Berry: ]

it has to
change…

11:52 that’s it right there, isn’t it? there’s no
choice…we HAVE to do something about this

11:52 the alternative is doing nothing, and that has
negative ramifications for our entire nation

11:52 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

I agree – this
has to stop. It’s about equity and fairness – things everyone should
embrace.

11:53 McFetridge still arguing that employers will
lose under this bill

11:53 i just don’t see it

11:54 attract top talent, grow your business,
reduce the threat of litigation

11:54 what employer doesn’t want those things?

11:54 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie Payne-Kirchmeier:
]

Countless
report show that women-run business fare better economically. Women are better
educated, have positive impacts on business practices and, consequently, on the
economy. We take calculated, not reckless risks, and the reward is stable
economic growth and a better ability to navigate difficult economic times.

11:54 women-owned businesses have grown
strongly

11:55 report after report shows they have fared
well…and if yiou’ll permit me a play on words, have fared fairly

11:56 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Excellent!
Love that – fared fairly!

11:56 i do my best!

11:58 [Comment From Laurie BerryLaurie Berry: ]

for the most part
we give lip service to it… or some people do… it is time to show that we
live what we say we espouse.

11:58 [Comment From Amy BlackwellAmy Blackwell: ]

A Women’s
History Month-relevant reminder: AAUW has been working on pay equity since
1913, when it released a report on US Civil Service job classifications &
compensation. https://svc.aauw.org/museum/history/1900_1919/index.cfm

11:58 thanks Amy, for that great bit of
history

11:58 AAUW has been at this for a long, long
time

11:58 going back to 1881 when it all began for us

11:59 McFetridge thinks that meritless lawsuits
wouldn’t go away under PFA becoming law

11:59 many of these claims are specious
to begin with

12:00 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

And thank
goodness for AAUW’s diligence, determination and advocacy. This is a fantastic
organization, and one of which I am proud to be a member.

12:00 well Julie, it’s thanks to members like you
that we have such a reputation

12:00 we can’t thank you enough for the
support

12:00 McFetridge likes to talk about the costs
associated with lawsuits

12:01 how about the costs associated with being
paid less than you deserve?

12:01 why dont we hear about those costs from her,
i wonder?

12:01 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Meritless
lawsuits won’t go away without PFA. That’s a desperate argument and one with no
evidentiary support.

12:02 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Maybe she’s
getting paid fairly and doesn’t see her privilege as an exception to the realiy
most women face every day. I think she should check her male colleagues and get
their salary information – she’d probably be shocked.

12:02 ha!

12:02 well as we know in the private sector, wage
discrimination is an often silent epidemic

12:04 dodd says the record will be left open for 10
days for additional written questions

12:04 looks like things are wrapping up

12:04 its been a terrific morning all around

12:04 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Does this mean a
vote will occur after this 10 day period?

12:04 that’s the hope, Julie

12:04 we’d love for this to pass out of committee
and reach the Senate floor for a vote this year

12:05 [Comment From Laurie BerryLaurie Berry: ]

thanks for
covering this with us. It is important for us to follow.

12:05 thank you for coming and contributing Laurie,
we’ve enjoyed having you here

12:05 [Comment From Julie Payne-KirchmeierJulie
Payne-Kirchmeier: ]

Absolutely -
thank you so much again for the coverage. This has been great – democracy in
action and fantastic arguments for equity!

12:05 thanks to you as well Julie…you’ve both
really made a difference here today

12:05 and thanks to everybody who listened

12:06 we hope you’ve enjoyed it

12:06 and of course, please stay with AAUW as we
continue to lead the charge in support of this critical legislation

12:06 we look forward to a landmark year in 2010
for pay equity…thanks everybody!