The Equal Pay Act and Its Effect on Women in Business

Over the last 50 years, women have become an undeniable influence in the workforce. As of 2006, there were eleven Fortune 500 companies run by women, including Radio Shack, eBay and Xerox. (Women CEOs, 2006). However, even with such great strides made to support women in big business, discrimination does still sometimes rear its ugly head. This paper will discuss the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the strides society has made in equal pay since the law was passed. The paper will also discuss some of the violations against the law and what was done to combat the violations.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 is a law that was passed "To prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce." [S. 1409] (Avalon Project, 2006) Prior to the Equal Pay Act, men and women were not treated fairly within regards to wages. It was not unheard of for a man to make twice the salary for doing the same job a woman was capable of doing. With the passing of the Equal Pay Act, women are now a driving force in some of the biggest and most successful companies in the world.

Anne Mulcahy, the CEO of the Xerox Corporation, led her company to over $15 million in revenue for 2005 with a 13% profit increase since 2004. Xerox ranks number 4 in the list of Fortune 500 computer and office equipment companies, surpassing powerhouses such as Apple, Pitney Bowes, and Gateway, companies all with men at the helm. (Fortune 500, 2006) Without the enactment of the Equal Pay Act, Anne Mulcahy may never have gotten the chance to advance to her current position.

Talent Tree, a staffing company based out of Houston, Texas, is run by a woman by the name of Brenda Harris. Brenda began as CEO of Talent Tree in 2004 after working for the company for 21 years, beginning as a Staffing Manager. Since Brenda has been at the helm of Talent Tree, the company has seen its first profit in several years and was able to afford a company paid trip to Mexico to reward the branches of Talent Tree who contributed to the success of the company in 2005. Brenda has brought back a sense of family and teamwork to Talent Tree with strong but fair leadership, and because of her, the company is on the road to a success it has not seen in some time. (Talent Tree Names New President, 2004) Brenda has also made Talent Tree an excellent company to work for where diversity is strong and women are treated as equal to men, with compensation decided based on skill and experience, not based on gender, race, or any other minority factor.

Although the Equal Pay Act of 1963 has allowed women such as Brenda Harris and Anne Mulcahy to become successful in what has been known as a man's world, there is still discrimination against women and many other minorities when it comes to wages. The Equal Pay Act has, in recent years, been the influence for other similar laws such as The Fair Pay Act (S. 840) and the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 841) to help combat this discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act holds penalties for violations of compensation laws. Unfortunately, some employers do not take these laws seriously as the penalties are not that severe. Changing the penalties to have a more detrimental affect on employers who violate compensation laws will hopefully help to decrease the violations. (Federal Legislation, n.d.)

One of the larger violations of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was by the super market chain, Publix. 16,000 current and former female employees of Publix sued the company for more fair wages and compensation, such as promotions; allocation of hours, job assignments, job advancement, and pay and employment opportunities. "In 1997, the Court approved a settlement awarding these women $81.5 million in monetary relief and extensive injunctive relief." (Equal Pay Act Violations, 2002)

Laws are meant to protect society from unjust and unfair behavior, and the passing of the Equal Pay Act in 1963 has done an outstanding job of protecting women and other minorities from being treated unfairly in the workplace with regard to wages and other compensation. Women are just as capable as men of making successful contributions to companies and therefore have every right to receive equal compensation. This law ensures that compensation is fair and equal to everyone. Although there have been a number of violations over the years, the violations are few and far between and will only decrease as more and more companies are realizing that it takes talent and skill, not gender, to be a success.

References

Equal Pay Act Violations (2002) retrieved from www.burrandsmithlaw.com/cases_equal.htim July 1, 2006

Federal Legislation (n.d.) retrieved from www.equalpay.info/legislation.html

July 1, 2006

Talent Tree Names New President (2004) retrieved from www.talenttree.com

July 2, 2006

Women CEOs for Fortune 500 Companies (2006) retrieved from

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/womenceos/

July 2, 2006