New Colorado law helps women know if they re paid fairly at work
A new law that took effect this year tries to ensure equal pay for equal work by allowing for more transparency around salaries. Author: Marshall Zelinger Updated: 10:03 AM MST January 15, 2021
DENVER Remember when water coolers were something you could talk around with your coworkers?
One topic that was taboo: salaries.
That s not the case anymore with a new Colorado law that took effect this year to tries to bring equal pay for equal work. I was probably being paid anywhere from $50,000-$80,000 less than my colleagues, said Wendy Rockwell, who fought for equal pay at her company. It was five years where I felt that something was off. And in the company, we were not allowed to speak with our colleagues about their income and about their merit increases.
PolitiFact s ruling: True
Here s why: When the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its latest job numbers, the Jan. 8, 2021 release brought a jaw-dropping number to light – from November to December the U.S. economy lost 140,000 jobs.
Then came another jaw-dropper: As a group, only women lost jobs.
Then came this claim, from Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah Godlewski. On Jan. 9, 2021, she tweeted a link to a CNN article about the job losses among women with this comment: This headline is hiding something from you. It wasn’t all women that lost jobs, it was mostly Black and Latina women. In fact, white women gained employment. Any response we have to this pandemic and economy has to also address structural inequality.
All of Decemberâs job losses were held by women, says Labor Department data
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and last updated 2021-01-11 17:05:19-05
Data released from the Labor Department showed the U.S. economy lost 140,000 jobs in the month of December, and it appears women
accounted for all of the job losses.
For the month of December, the data show men overall gained 16,000 jobs, while women lost 156,000, for a total loss to the economy for that month of 140,000.
Not just women, minority women. The data shows Black and Hispanic women lost jobs in December, while white women gained. In December, Hispanic women have the highest unemployment rate at 9.1%, followed by Black women at 8.4%, with white women at 5.7%. The data does not break out other racial or ethnic identities in unemployment rates.
US economy lost 140,000 jobs in December and all of them were held by women
CNNWire A year ago, a rare thing happened to American women.
For three months, [women] held more jobs than men in the U.S. economy - something that had only occurred one other time in history during a short period in 2009 and early 2010.
Sure, there were still many other gender gaps: women were more likely than men to work part-time, for example, because of caregiving responsibilities at home, and even among full-time workers, they earned on average only 81 cents for every dollar of their male peers.
Corporate America has long had a complex relationship with President Donald Trump. Many executives have been critical of his unpredictability, restrictions on immigration and ready use of tariffs all while benefiting from his 2017 tax cuts and deregulation agenda.