Pasadena Commission Pushes Equal Pay Pledge to Close Gender Wage Gap

The Pasadena Commission on the Status of Women announced it is launching a new initiative to address the city’s widening gender pay gap at a special meeting this Wednesday. According to the 2022 report on the Status of Women and Girls in Pasadena, women in the city earn 17% less than their male counterparts — a larger gap than the statewide average, with the disparity actually increasing between 2014 and 2019.

The California Equal Pay Pledge, launched in April 2019, is “a partnership between the Office of the First Partner, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, the California Partners Project, and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency” with the goal of turning “the strongest equal pay laws in the nation into the smallest pay gap in the nation.”

While California has made progress, closing its wage gap by 5 percentage points over the past decade to reach 89% of men’s earnings compared to 84% nationally, significant disparities persist.

The Commission’s report notes that “women make up two-thirds of the lowest-paid workers in California’s workforce.” The report said the impact over a 40-year career is substantial: White women lose $731,000 in earnings compared to White men, Asian American women $737,000, Black women $1.6 million, and Latina workers face a $2.1 million deficit.

Organizations that take the pledge commit to three specific actions: conducting annual company-wide gender pay analyses, reviewing hiring and promotion processes to reduce unconscious bias, and promoting best practices to ensure fundamental equity for all workers.

The Commission’s proposed next steps include inviting Human Resources representatives to present current city employment practices, reviewing Pasadena’s latest Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report, and identifying potential champions within city government. According to meeting documents, “success requires a strong champion in City Government” and should be framed as both “an economic issue” and a “compliance issue.”

More than 200 employers have already signed the pledge, including the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Fresno, Santa Barbara, Long Beach, Culver City, and recently Glendale. The state provides support through resources, webinars, and a social media toolkit.

The Commission will discuss integrating equal pay issues into planned activities, including a Herstory event in March and outreach to the Chamber of Commerce and Junior League for Equal Pay Day on April 8, 2025.

The special meeting will be held Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at the Jackie Robinson Community Center, located at 1020 North Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena.