By Jos Truitt • @jostruitt • 12 years ago

Closing the gender wage gap at the federal level

Women, like men only cheaperThe federal wage gap is slightly better than the gap for all employees in the US – federally employed women earn 89 cents for every dollar men earn, instead of 77 cents. I know, winning!

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a joint memorandum Tuesday committing to “ensure the most rigorous possible enforcement of our federal equal pay laws,” as the Washington Post reports.

Representatives from EEOC and OPM are working with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) “to identify the reasons for this wage gap and ways to close it.” The GAO says 7 cents of the 11 cent wage gap still can’t be explained after controlling for factors like occupation, experience and education levels. So we’re talking about plain old gender discrimination in federal employment, even when we factor out the different careers men and women are socialized to pursue as well as discrimination in school and past job opportunities.

A focus on closing the federal gender wage gap could be a huge win in a number of ways. Obviously female federal employees stand to benefit, but so do private sector workers if companies learn from the government’s example.

While the Obama administration has been criticized for slow action on a lot of key progressive issues related to gender and sexuality, they have moved government agencies to take positive actions for federal employees. These wins, like new guidelines protecting transgender federal employees, are less flashy than overturning DOMA or Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but certainly important. A focus on equal pay by the federal government is another victory.

Boston, MA

Jos Truitt is Executive Director of Development at Feministing. She joined the team in July 2009, became an Editor in August 2011, and Executive Director in September 2013. She writes about a range of topics including transgender issues, abortion access, and media representation. Jos first got involved with organizing when she led a walk out against the Iraq war at her high school, the Boston Arts Academy. She was introduced to the reproductive justice movement while at Hampshire College, where she organized the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program’s annual reproductive justice conference. She has worked on the National Abortion Federation’s hotline, was a Field Organizer at Choice USA, and has volunteered as a Pro-Choice Clinic Escort. Jos has written for publications including The Guardian, Bilerico, RH Reality Check, Metro Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has spoken and trained at numerous national conferences and college campuses about trans issues, reproductive justice, blogging, feminism, and grassroots organizing. Jos completed her MFA in Printmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute in Spring 2013. In her "spare time" she likes to bake and work on projects about mermaids.

Jos Truitt is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Development.

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