Kamala Harris Promotes Closing Gender Pay Gap

Kamala Harris, a California Senator and Democratic candidate for President in 2020, has a plan to tackle the gender pay gap. Right now, Harris says, women only make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes, and the gap is even bigger for non-white women.

“Unlike previous federal legislation regarding the pay gap, which asked workers to report or sue their employer if discrepancies were suspected, Ms. Harris’s plan would proactively force companies with 100 or more employees to obtain an ‘equal pay certification’ every two years, showing that they were paying men and women the same for analogous work,” The New York Times reports.

The New York Times also reports the most recent studies on the gender pay gap, which are not based on analogous work, show that women who work full time make 80 cents for every dollar paid to men, adding up to more than $400,000 in missed wages over the course of a woman’s career. The numbers are even worse for women who are also racial minorities — about $1 million in missed wages over a career for Latinas, Native American women and black women, according to an analysis by the National Women’s Law Center.

(Photo Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The “pay gap” is a controversial idea, with some arguing that the gap is due to women’s career choices, such as choosing to work fewer hours. Nonetheless, Harris’ plan would fine businesses 1 percent of their profits for every 1 percent difference in pay for male and female employees.

“For too long, we’ve put the burden entirely on workers to hold corporations accountable for pay discrimination through costly lawsuits that are increasingly difficult to prove. We’ve let corporations hide their wage gaps, but forcing women to stand up in court just to get the pay they’ve earned,” Harris’ campaign said in an official statement.