Employment

4th Anniversary of the Ledbetter Act

Thank President Obama for his leadership on fair pay and ask him to take the next step with a fair pay executive order.

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Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

NWLC’s fact sheet outlines the provisions of the bill and discusses the impact its passage would have for families.

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Women's Lower Wages Worsen their Circumstances

In these tough economic times, the gap in wages only compounds the hardship faced by women and their families.

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concerned woman

Frequently Asked Questions About Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Learn more about what sexual harassment in the workplace is and how you can stop it.

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Women in the Military

In recent years the number of women serving in the armed services has grown significantly, as have the obligations women have undertaken in our nation's defense.

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Fair Pay
Pregnant Workers
Women's Wages and the Economy
Sexual Harassment
Women in the Military

Highlights

Fact Sheet | How the Paycheck Fairness Act Will Strengthen the Equal Pay Act

May 7, 2012

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform substantially equal work.  Yet today, women earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.  The Paycheck Fairness Act would update and strengthen the EPA by improving rememdies for pay discrimination, prohibiting employer retaliation, and facilitating class action suits in equal pay claims, among other strategies.

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| National Women's Law Center Encourages HELP Committee to Support Perez Nomination

April 18, 2013

The National Women's Law Center has urged the Senate HELP Committee to support the nomination of Thomas Perez for Secretary of the Department of Labor.

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Fact Sheet | The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Making Room for Pregnancy on the Job

May 7, 2012

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), introduced in both the House and the Senate, would let pregnant women continue to do their jobs and support their families by requiring employers to make the same sorts of accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions that they do for disabilities.  This fact sheet outlines the provisions of the bill and discusses the enormous impact its passage would have for working parents and their families.

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Fact Sheet | Closing the Wage Gap is Especially Important for Women of Color in Difficult Times

April 11, 2012

American women who work full-time, year-round are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. But the wage gap is even larger for many women of color, with African-American women making only 62 cents, and Hispanic women only 54 cents, for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. These gaps translate into a loss of $19,575 for African-American women and $23,873 for Hispanic women every year. Closing the wage gap is, therefore, particularly important for African-American and Hispanic women, who are already more likely to have lower incomes and to be in poverty than any other group.  

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Fact Sheet | The Equal Employment Opportunity Restoration Act of 2012: What it Means for Low-Wage Women Workers

June 15, 2012

One year ago in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, a deeply divided Supreme Court in a narrow 5-4 decision limited workers’ ability to come together as a group to challenge discrimination by large employers. It dealt a particular blow to women in low-wage jobs, who make up a disproportionate share of the low-wage workforce. For this group of workers, the challenges of living on low wages are too often compounded by persistent workplace discrimination.  This fact sheet discusses the Equal Employmente Opportunity Restoration Act of 2012 and how it will affect low-wage women workers.

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Blog Post | “Similar in Their Ability or Inability to Work” or: How Not to Discriminate Against Pregnant Employees

February 17, 2012

This week, the EEOC held a public meeting on unlawful discrimination against pregnant workers and workers with caregiving responsibilities at which experts, including the National Women’s Law Center’s own Vice President and General Counsel Emily Martin, presented compelling testimony setting out the widespread and often blatant ways in which employers continue to unlawfully discriminate in the workplace. Members of the Commission expressed dismay, if not complete surprise, that nearly 35 years after the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) was passed in 1978, discrimination on the basis of pregnancy persists, in the words of EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien, “unnecessarily depriving women of the means to support their families.”

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More Resources

Fact Sheet | Closing the Wage Gap is Especially Important for Women of Color in Difficult Times

April 11, 2012

American women who work full-time, year-round are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. But the wage gap is even larger for many women of color, with African-American women making only 62 cents, and Hispanic women only 54 cents, for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. These gaps translate into a loss of $19,575 for African-American women and $23,873 for Hispanic women every year. Closing the wage gap is, therefore, particularly important for African-American and Hispanic women, who are already more likely to have lower incomes and to be in poverty than any other group.  

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Fact Sheet | Women Can't Afford Unfair Pay Today

April 11, 2012

Click HERE to download the full report.

American women who work full time, year round are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. This gap in earnings translates into $10,784 less per year in median earnings, leaving women and their families shortchanged. The wage gap is even more substantial when race and gender are considered together, with African-American women making only 62 cents, and Hispanic women only 54 cents, for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. Although enforcement of the Equal Pay Act as well as other civil rights laws has helped to narrow the wage gap over time, it is critical for women and their families that the significant pay disparities that remain are addressed.

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Fact Sheet | Combating Punitive Pay Secrecy Policies

April 11, 2012

Nearly fifty years after President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, women working full time are paid just 77 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts. All too often, wage disparities go undetected because employers maintain policies that punish employees who voluntarily share salary information with their coworkers. When employees fear retaliation, there is a serious “chilling effect” on any conversations about wages. Moreover, the few laws that protect employees from such retaliation are full of loopholes that have allowed the unfortunate practice of penalizing employees who discuss their wages to flourish. As a result, workers are paid unfair wages for years prior to discovering pay disparities, if they are discovered at all.

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Fact Sheet | The Wage Gap State by State: 2012 Fact Sheets

April 10, 2012

At the time of the Equal Pay Act's passage in 1963, women working full time, year-round were paid merely 59 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. Enforcement of the Equal Pay Act and related civil rights laws has helped to narrow the wage gap, but significant disparities remain and must be addressed.

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Coalition Action Materials | Letter in Support of the Rebuild America Act

March 29, 2012

The National Women's Law Center sent this letter in support of Sen. Tom Harkin's Rebuild America Act. The Act will strengthen women and families' economic security while ensuring that millionaire's and corporations pay their fair share of taxes.

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