Between the rise of the #MeToo movement and Democratic majorities in both the state House and Senate, supporters of a state gender pay equity bill believe 2018 will be the year it gets signed into law.
“I would like to say this is the year this bill gets passed,” said State Representative Tana Senn (D-Mercer Island).
Rep. Senn first introduced her gender pay equity bill three years ago, but she says it's since been tweaked to gain more bipartisan and business community support. It will have its first hearing when the session begins on Monday.
Her legislation updates the equal pay act in the state, which already makes it a misdemeanor penalty to discriminate based on gender, in providing compensation. If the new bill passes, employees would have additional protections and potential remedies if they file complaints about cases of potential discrimination.
Senn's bill would also protect employees from being penalized if they talk about salaries with coworkers.
“It's about eliminating pay secrecy policies that a new employee might have to sign, and it's allowing employees to discuss their wages without fear of retaliation,” explained Rep. Senn.
There would not be a change to businesses keeping that information private. However, the legislation would encourage businesses to make sure female employees know about partnership or promotion opportunities, or special work training.
A study completed last year by the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce and Women's Funding Alliance found that women in King County earn around 79 cents for every dollar earned by a man. The average annual income for a woman in the region was $15,000 less than a male colleague, according to the research.
The wage gap increased even more when taking into account factors such as race and parenthood.
“Men are more comfortable speaking to 'this is what I've done; this is why I deserve this raise or promotion or more money,'” said Jamila Conley a VP at F5 Networks.
“Women, a lot of times we just like to keep our head down and want to believe the system is going to work in our favor and that people are going to see what we produce and we'll get rewarded for it, but that's not necessarily how the world works,” Conley continued.
Conley says a key piece of knowing your worth in the workplace is doing your research.
She believes legislation such Rep. Senn's bill could be a helpful first step. Since companies keep salary information private, Conley also suggests sites like Glassdoor and Comparably.
“We have to start learning to lean into our courage,” Conley says of negotiations.
“Speaking up and speaking to your value,” she said. “When it's performance review time, don't expect that 'hey, I've done a good job; it's going to speak for itself. Sometimes you have to actually remind people what you've done, the value you've brought to the table.”
