Kiara Pesante Haughton

Vice President, Campaigns and Communications, The National Women’s Law Center

“Women have never received equal pay for equal work, and it robs them of hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetimes. Over the last several decades, with the passage of key federal anti-discrimination laws, women have made meaningful gains in educational attainment and labor force participation, which jump-started important progress to narrow that gap. But last fall, the wage gap widened for an unprecedented second year in a row; now, women make only 81 cents for every dollar earned by a white man—and this gap is much larger for Black, Native, and Latina women. It’s especially alarming at a time when more women, including many mothers, are leaving the labor force at record rates, and Black women’s unemployment is rising. 

That’s why equal pay for women has been a core tenet of the National Women’s Law Center’s work, which is supported by Ford,  since our founding in 1972. We’ve used litigation to require employers to issue back pay to women who have had the courage to come forward and sue. We advocate for employers to conduct regular pay audits to address gender-based pay disparities, ensure that recruitment efforts include women, and create ways to support women’s success as caregivers in the workplace. We also advocate for increasing pay transparency, expanding access to paid sick days and paid family and medical leave, and raising the minimum wage—especially for tipped, part-time, and gig workers. 

Women’s work is devalued simply because women do it. That is wrong and must change if we are going to build a future where everyone thrives. When women aren’t able to make ends meet, our entire economy suffers.”

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