In this op-ed, Meg Uzzell and Rachael Klarman explain why their organization, Democracy Forward, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and are seeking to reinstate a pay transparency requirement ā and why they're investigating Ivanka Trump's role in the decision, too. Uzzell is a legal policy expert and served eight years at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she most recently was the Associate Deputy Secretary for Policy. Klarman, who served as the National Director for Young American Outreach at Enroll America, is a legal analyst.
The news over the past few weeks has been devastating.
From the numerous accounts of powerful men sexually harassing women and girls, to the Trump administrationās attempt to prevent an undocumented teen from having an abortion while simultaneously cutting teen pregnancy prevention grants to reports that 80% of President Trumpās appointees so far are men, itās clear weāre a long way from achieving equal rights in the United States.
But thereās something missing from the conversation about women in Trumpās America: weāre kicking his ass.
All the recent revelations about sexual harassment? Weāre only reading about them because brave women came forward and shared their experiences. That undocumented teen? She reclaimed control over her own body thanks to a female attorney at the ACLU.
What began as a march in January has turned into a full-blown movement. Women of every race, religion, and creed are running for office, organizing advocacy campaigns, and at our organization, Democracy Forward, using the law to fight back.
Democracy Forward was founded by people who recognized that every time the Executive Branch breaks the law, real people are hurt. Unfortunately, women ā particularly women of color ā are often the ones hurt most by President Trump. So, this week, we sued the Trump Administration for the 16th time. Together with the National Womenās Law Center and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, weāre demanding President Trump reinstate an equal pay requirement his Administration unlawfully scrapped.
By now, weāve all heard the stats: women make 80 cents on the dollar compared to men, with Black, Native American and Latinx women being paid even less ā and the gap is actually getting worse for young women between 25 and 34.
Thatās why the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (which, guess what, is led by a woman) developed a plan to increase pay transparency by requiring large employers to report how much they pay people of different genders and races. Itās simple: if we donāt know where pay gaps exist, how can we do something about it?
Then Trump ā with Ivanka Trumpās blessing ā halted the transparency requirement, and did so in a one-page statement that ignored the years of analysis that went into its creation and the thousands of comments from women who supported the requirement. The administration disregarded the pressing need to end the wage gap, saying simply that the collection of employer pay data ālacked practical utility.ā
Lacked practical utility? Tell that to women who, on average, lose nearly half a million dollars compared to men during their careers. If youāre a black or Latinx woman, that number is closer to one million dollars. As a result of the administrationās move, the roughly 63 million workers who would have benefited wonāt have the data they need to insist on being paid equallyāwhether by bargaining for higher wages or, if necessary, taking their employer to court.
Not only did Trump make closing the wage gap harder, he did it by taking away a tool specifically designed to empower women to fight for equal pay. He knows women are winning, and so heās trying to take away the tools we need to fight.
But weāre not giving in. We believe that the White Houseās action to halt the collection of pay data is illegal. So, we filed suit and are seeking to immediately reinstate the pay transparency requirement.
And we wonāt let Ivanka get away with claiming to champion women, but failing to stand up to the administrationās anti-women policies. So, we filed a request for records to find out her role in this rollback. We will let you know what we find.
Itās 2017, Mr. President. You don't get to treatāor payāwomen differently than men. Weāll see you in court.
Related: Equal Pay For Women Won't Happen Until the 23rd Century, Study Says
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