WPXI: Report exposes U.S. gender pay gap even greater for women in management positions

March 17. 2023

Executive Director Noreen Farrell was interviewed on WPXI 11 News (Pittsburgh PA) tonight about solutions to the gender wage gap. She is also extensively quoted in the accompanying article.

“The pay gap starts from somebody’s very first job and it only grows as they progress in their career,” said Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates. “Women face a motherhood penalty. They may lack paid leave, which depresses their overall wages and maybe pushes them out of the workforce for a while.”

The advocacy group was part of a team that met with Biden administration officials at the White House this week to discuss efforts to close the gender pay gap.

“Our rights shouldn’t depend on our zip code,” said Farrell. “Talk about your pay. Ask questions. Advocate for yourself.”

Farrell said a key tool to help combat the problem is pay transparency.

“I’ve never met an employer that thinks that they’re paying unequally until they actually set up their scales and publish them and track data about pay disparities,” said Farrell.

At least eight states now require employers to post salary ranges for job openings and around a dozen others are considering similar requirements.

“It lets any candidate be able to understand what are the factors that put you on the low end and the high end of the range,” said Farrell.

Read the article and watch the news clip here.