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I) Executive Summary
In the ten-month time frame since the appointment of the Equal
Pay Commission, the Commission held nine meetings; reviewed a comprehensive
literature search, which summarized data on gender-based
and race-based wage disparities; received and accepted an
offer of assistance from the Institute for Women's Policy
Research (IWPR) to conduct a study on wage disparities in
Maryland; reviewed information from the staff at the Maryland
Human Relations Commission Counsel's office; conducted research
into Pay Equity Best Practices; contacted interest and advocacy
groups; and considered and discussed Commission findings,
data, possible recommendations and report content. Although
hampered by a lack of data and limited resources, the Commission's
report, with its attachments, creates a foundation on which
to build equal pay initiatives in Maryland.
A key finding in the IWPR report captures the extent
of the challenge in Maryland:
"More than one-fifth of the difference in women's
and men's earnings cannot be explained by differences in
their education, potential work experience, job
characteristics, or other measurable factors. A smaller, but
still meaningful, portion of earnings differences between whites and workers of color is not
explained by observed demographic and job characteristics."
Although these statistics are consistent with the picture on a national
basis, they confirm that there are wage gaps based on both
gender and race in the State, particularly in the private
sector. The Commission was hampered from reviewing the gaps
and related factors by time, data and budget limitations.
Therefore, the Commission's first three recommendations
relate directly to establishing a mechanism for additional
study and effective implementation of changes. The final
three recommendations provide shorter term strategies that
could have an immediate impact on existing wage disparities:
- Create an On Going Commission
- Assign Effective Equal Pay Authority to a State Agency
- Develop and Implement a Consistent and Comprehensive Data Collection System
- Encourage Implementation of Family Friendly Work Policies
- Provide for Effective Administration and Enforcement of Existing Laws
- Gather and Disseminate Best Equal Pay Practices
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