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Why the Equal Pay Act and Laws Which Prohibit Salary Inquiries of Job Applicants Can Not Adequately Address Gender-Based Pay Inequity

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  • Jeffrey A. Mello

Abstract

Despite passage of the Equal Pay Act (EPA) more than a half-century ago, surveys consistently show that women still earn significantly less than men. One factor to which this has been attributed is the use of current salary as a basis for a new job offer. Such a practice, it has been argued, perpetuates the kinds of salary differentials the EPA attempted to eradicate. As a result, many municipalities have passed laws which prohibit inquiries as to an applicant’s current salary. This article explores the nature of such laws and their limitations and offers alternative strategies to close the pay gap between genders.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey A. Mello, 2019. "Why the Equal Pay Act and Laws Which Prohibit Salary Inquiries of Job Applicants Can Not Adequately Address Gender-Based Pay Inequity," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:9:y:2019:i:3:p:2158244019869106
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244019869106
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    2. Moshe A. Barach & John Horton, 2017. "How Do Employers Use Compensation History?: Evidence from a Field Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 6559, CESifo.
    3. Elbers, Benjamin, 2018. "A Method for Studying Differences in Segregation Across Time and Space," SocArXiv ya7zs, Center for Open Science.
    4. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
    5. Mary Elizabeth Sutherland, 2019. "A lifetime of gender segregation," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 10-10, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Srikant Devaraj & Pankaj C. Patel, 2022. "State bans on pay secrecy and earnings: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 697-734, December.

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