Tory Burch: Why Equal Pay Is Good Business

When I was fundraising for my company 15 years ago, I was told to never say the words “social responsibility” and “business” in the same sentence. Thankfully, in the ensuing years, corporate foundations and social responsibility have become a given for innovative companies. But astoundingly, 54 years after the United States passed the Equal Pay Act, women still do not have pay parity with men, especially women of color. Recently, the current U.S. Administration halted the equal pay data collection rule, which aimed to help close the wage gap by having large companies report what they pay employees by race and gender. The White House argued that this would put too large a burden on businesses. Whether you agree or not, it’s clear something must be done, and we should not wait for the government to take the lead. The private sector has a fundamental responsibility to address this issue. We can, and should, look at our pay structures and ensure that they are equitable for all people. Equal pay is a human right; it should be a given, not a favor. This should be reason enough to make it happen, but equal pay is also good business. Countless studies have shown that equal pay for women would add billions of dollars to the American economy. Studies have also proven that companies that have women in leadership positions outperform those that do not; and equal pay could cut poverty rates in half, helping the most vulnerable. Every business needs to take ...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized feminism Money The CEO Initiative Source Type: news