Massachusetts Trails Region, Country in Pay Equity

February 8, 2010                                                                                                                               Kathleen M. Hornby

                                                                                                                                                              617-722-2810

 

BOSTON—Representative Alice K. Wolf (D-Cambridge) and Senator Patricia D. Jehlen (D-Somerville) decried the wage gap in Massachusetts as one of the highest in New England. Wolf and Jehlen have filed legislation to close the wage gap by establishing a legal definition for comparable work.

 

According to a report released last week by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, women in Massachusetts earn only 76 percent of what men earn, compared to a national average of 79.9 percent. Of the six New England states, only Connecticut and New Hampshire had larger gaps. Massachusetts has been below the national numbers since 2003, and the peak ratio of women’s to men’s earnings was 79.3 percent in 2004. 

 

“This report underscores the need for the Legislature to take action for working women across the Commonwealth,” Wolf stated. “Our communities and our economy suffer when half the workforce is bringing home less than it deserves.”

 

“This legislation is vital to boost the standard of living for Massachusetts families.  Women must be treated and compensated as equal partners,” said Jehlen.  “This is common sense legislation that is of no cost to the Commonwealth.”

 

The Wolf/Jehlen bill defines comparable work as “solely based on whether the two positions entail comparable skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions between employees of the opposite sex.” The goal of the bill is to eliminate the wage gap between men and women by ensuring that work requiring comparable skill, effort and responsibility—beyond the scope of specific male- or female-dominated professions—is compensated equally.

 

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