San Diego is among six other cities in California to sign a pledge supporting equal pay for women, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom announced Tuesday.
The California Equal Pay Pledge was signed by the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Long Beach, and Fresno, joining over 100 existing pledge signatories. According to Siebel Newsom, it will continue to take public and private partnerships like our California Equal Pay Pledge to close the gender pay gap in California.
“Pay inequity stems from a patriarchal system that was not built with gender equity in mind, but instead built to keep money and power in the hands of few men in control,” said First Partner Siebel Newsom.“Given our history as a nation, closing the pay gap for mothers and women of color may seem like a daunting goal, but in California, we are up to the challenge. I am grateful to the over 100 companies as well as the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Fresno, Long Beach, and San Diego for standing with us and sending a clear message to their employees, customers, and constituents that women are valued and that women’s labor is as valuable as men’s.”
Despite California having some of the strongest equal pay laws in the nation, women still earn 88 cents for every dollar a man earns. Nationally, women earn on average 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, and those numbers plummet to 64 cents for Black women, 54 cents for Latina women, 51 cents for Native American women, and 62 cents for mothers. In addition, the gender wage gap creates staggering financial losses with California women losing a combined total of $87 billion each year.
“Equality is a fundamental American value and the bedrock of our democracy, which is why California and the City of San Diego are dedicated to leading the nation in promoting women’s equality,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “From reestablishing the City’s Commission on the Status of Women to conducting our City’s first ever Pay Equity Study, San Diego is among those on the vanguard for women’s rights, and I’m proud to join many other local governments and business leaders in committing to the California Equal Pay Pledge.”
The First Partner, in partnership with the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, launched the Equal Pay Pledge in 2019 as a part of her California for ALL Women initiative to build upon the state’s nation-leading equal pay laws by closing the existing gender wage gap.
There have been 111 companies that have signed the California Equal Pay Pledge, including the State of California, Adobe, GoFundMe, and Apple
According to Newsom’s office, companies who sign the Equal Pay Pledge have committed to conducting annual company-wide gender pay analysis reviewing their hiring and promotion processes and procedures in an effort to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers. The pledge also promotes best practices to help close the pay gaps and ensure fundamental equity among all workers.
