Dive Brief:
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While Nov. 8 is still a long way off, Hillary Clinton's campaign promise to make equal gender pay a top priority will be a difficult struggle at both the federal and state levels if she is elected, according to CBS News.
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During the campaign and at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, Clinton's vow to win equal pay for women has been a key focus of her economic vision. She plans on fighting for pay transparency and calling on Congress to pass key legislation she first introduced when she served in the Senate, CBS reports.
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But waiting in the wings will be Republicans, who will continue to fight the Democrats by trying to block any efforts to close the gap, mainly because they see the effort as a job killer serving little more than the plaintiff's bar, according to CBS.
Dive Insight:
Democrats have been largely unsuccessful at trying to close the pay gap for 10 years, as every effort has been rebuffed by Senate Republicans, who blocked the measure in 2012 and twice in 2014.
With Congress stalemated, states and private employers are making some progress, but not much. This year, CBS reports, 25 states considered equal-pay related measures but just four passed laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Maryland and Massachusetts received most of the headlines, with the latter barring employers from requesting job candidate salary history during job interviews.
If the pace remains the same, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research projects more than four decades will pass, until 2059, before gender pay equality is reality. For employers, all HR can do is make the case that gender pay equality is good for business.
