Mayor Angel Taveras unveiled a three-pronged proposal last week to close the gender wage gap as part of his gubernatorial campaign. The plan includes stricter penalties for businesses that violate pay equity laws and state workers’ pay equity audits and features a continued effort to appoint women to at least half the openings on state boards and commissions, according to a press release from the Taveras campaign.
In Rhode Island, women working full time earn a median weekly wage of $746, whereas men working full time earn a median weekly wage of $917, according to the release. The current Rhode Island wage discrimination statute is more than 50 years old, Taveras said in his proposal, adding that “businesses found guilty of violating Rhode Island’s pay equity laws shall be responsible for … up to 300 percent of the total amount of unpaid wages.”
“We believe that if you want to be able to recruit the best women … and retain the best workforce,” said Danny Kedem, Taveras’ gubernatorial campaign manager, “making sure that there are no loopholes … is a very relevant economic tool.”
“This proposal isn’t in a vacuum,” Kedem added, pointing to other proposals Taveras has made — including plans for minimum wage increases and universal pre-kindergarten.
Taveras discussed support for Providence’s women- and minority-business enterprise program — which aims to increase the number of government contracts available for women- and minority-owned companies — in a roundtable discussion last month with female business owners at the Center for Women and Enterprise, according to a press release from Taveras’ office.
As mayor, Taveras has appointed 74 women to the 141 openings on public boards or commissions and has directed the Human Resources Department to conduct a city-wide wage audit.
Taveras was partly motivated to introduce the proposal given his background as the son of a single working mother and as the father of a daughter, Kedem said.
The city started the audit just before Taveras’ proposal was announced, Kedem said. It was really to show that “a cost-contained audit is possible,” he said.
“The power to change this on a broad scope lies with the state government, not with the mayor” because litigation occurs at the state level, Kedem added. If elected governor, Taveras would introduce his proposal to the General Assembly, he said.
As part of her gubernatorial campaign, General Treasurer Gina Raimondo has said she “intends to create a special certification for companies that do business with the state,” wrote Eric Hyers, Raimondo’s campaign manager, in an email to The Herald. “In order to procure a government contract, businesses must demonstrate that they comply with equal pay for equal work practices.”
Raimondo “will establish an anonymous tip hotline to report workplace incidents of gender discrimination, harassment or unequal pay practices,” Hyers wrote.
Taveras’ plan is unique, said Claudia Williams, a research analyst at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. “It’s not a topic that a lot of politicians put their interests behind,” she said. In 2009, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson issued an executive order to establish a task force to develop recommendations for addressing pay equity within the state and in companies that contract with the state.
“Companies wishing to contract with the state of New Mexico have to provide basic pay equity reports” under the new standards, according to an IWPR fact sheet. The New Mexico initiative is an example of how pay equity incentives can be created outside of the state legislature, according to the fact sheet.
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