City Task Force On Pay Equity To Address Seattle’s Gender Wage Gap
A new report shows there is a 9.5 percent gap between the salaries earned by men who work for the city of Seattle, compared with the salaries of women. The mayor has asked a task force to look into the situation and make recommendations on how to close the gap.
Julie Nelson is the director of Seattle’s Office of Civil Rights. She’s on the task force. She says she hopes it will have an influence on private-sector gender pay gaps as well as the disparity within the city.
“Looking at the role of the city, we do employ 10,000 people, we’re one of the major employers in the city, and it’s important for us as government to actually be a model for other employers. The data shows that we have a little bit of work to do,” said Nelson.
In April, a study by the National Partnership for Women and Families found Seattle had the biggest gender pay gap of the 50 largest cities in the country. It found women earn, on average, 73 cents for every dollar earned by men.
