Comparable Worth: Limited Coverage and the Exacerbation of Inequality

Citing relevant judicial decisions, the author argues that any application of the comparable worth remedy for gender discrimination is likely to cover only certain groups of workers. Most likely to be covered are women who work for governmental or large private employers in female-dominated jobs, and least likely to be covered are women who work for small private employers. The implementation of comparable worth would cause the wages of noncovered workers to fall relative to those of covered workers, and they might even fall absolutely. An analysis of 1979 Current Population Survey data suggests that the women most likely to gain from comparable worth are fewer in number, better paid, and subjected to no greater discrimination than the women most likely to lose.