Kamala Harris Wants To Close The Wage Gap For Good

By Lauren Rearick


Despite continued calls for pay equality in the workplace, females still receive much less for the same work than their male counterparts, a supply that is even worse for females of color and trans women. Senator Kamala Harris, who is running to earn the nomination for the Democratic party’s 2020 presidential candidate, wants to change that.


On Monday, May 20, Senator Harris reported her plan to close the gender wage gap by requiring corporations with at least 100 personnel to apply for what she’s called a Equal Pay Certification.


“It is my intention to correct what has been wrong about the way we have designed this system,” Senator Harris told CNN She also noted that if elected, she could be ready to take executive action to pass the bill if Congress decides not to support it.


sort in attempt to receive certification, a business would have to disclose how much it’s paying its personnel, how several non-men hold leadership positions, and what in general pay gap exists between males and females employed by the organization. For organizations that do have a pay gap, Harris’s plan would require them to demonstrate that the gap is based on merit, efficiency, or seniority.


Based on the size of a firm, firms with a pay gap would have between two to three years to prepare changes and eliminate the gap. Agencies that continue to let a pay gap to exist could be fined 1% of their day-to-day profits, CNN reports.


The Harris campaign estimates that fines could bring in $180 billion in ten years, and Harris wants to use that cash to support the FAMILY Act, a segment of recommended legislation from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Representative Rosa DeLauro that would create nationwide paid family member and paid medical leave for personnel. At current, the National Partnership for Girls and Families reports that only 17% of staff In the
U.S. Have access to paid family member or paid medical leave through their employers.


Since announcing that she could be running for president, Senator Harris has unveiled several her planned policy changes. As well as planning a ban on all AR-15 fashion assault weapons, the presidential hopeful wants to increase salaries for teachers, simplify the student cash advance application process, and supports a debt-free college act.