Tempe, Tucson join gender wage gap fight

Arizona cities hope to follow Phoenix’s lead in efforts to close the wage gap for women workers.

Tempe and Tucson officials announced this week efforts to draft their own equal pay for equal work ordinances in their cities.

While both cities’ efforts are in the nascent stages, any future ordinance will likely resemble Phoenix’s ordinance change last month and require vendors who seek contracts with the city to prove they pay men and women equally, call for a review of city departments to ensure an equal and diverse workforce, and involve efforts to educate local businesses regarding wage disparity.

Since federal law, and many cities, already prohibit wage discrimination, the future ordinances could stress existing rules or close any shortcomings that may exist.

“We are taking a look in the mirror at ourselves. We are not perfect and we want to aspire to be a more just city,” Tempe Councilwoman Lauren Kuby-said. “We want to take a thorough and exhaustive look at how we treat our workers and how our contracted companies treat their workers.”

In Arizona, women earn roughly 82

cents for every dollar a man does, compared to 77 cents on the dollar nationwide.

But the issue isn’t the size of the gap, Tucson Councilwoman Regina Romero said. It’s that a gap exists and it must be closed, she said.

“It happened to us. It happened to our mothers. And we shouldn’t let it happen to our children,” Romero said.

Some have debated how much gender discrimination plays into the wage gap. Those critics have referenced studies listing career choice and taking time off to raise children as other factors that could explain the discrepancy.

However, the gap takes a considerable toll on a woman’s ability to support herself and her family over a lifetime of work, said longtime equal pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter.

“It’s not a woman’s issue. It’s a family issue,” Ledbetter said during a morning press conference recognizing Equal Pay Day at Phoenix City Hall. “I learned after working 20 years for Goodyear Tire and Rubber I was making so much less than my male counterparts doing the exact same job. That affected my overtime pay. It affected my retirement ... and today it affects my Social Security.”

Ledbetter, whose protracted legal battle against her former employer for equal wages inspired Congress to name the Fair Pay Act in 2009 after her, commended Phoenix’s efforts and said women still must work toward closing the gap.

Mayor Greg Stanton said he was proud to be a part of that fight.

“Our City Council wanted to send a clear message: In Phoenix we value people. We value women and families and we believe that equal work deserves equal pay, regardless of gender,” said Stanton, who along with Councilwoman Kate Gallego declared April14 Lilly Ledbetter Day in Phoenix. “We chose to lead on this issue to set an example for others to do exactly the same.”

Gallego lauded other cities who are tackling the wage gap.

“In Phoenix, we are fighting to close that gap and we are so glad to have many other peers, including Tucson and Tempe, with us in that fight,” said Gallego, who was instrumental in crafting Phoenix’s ordinance change.

Gallego said the first city contract affected by the ordinance change will be airport retail stores.

“So when you go ... shopping at the airport you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that all the companies who are part of that program had to tell the city of Phoenix what they’re doing to help us close that pay gap,” Gallego said.

Enforcement would be complaint driven and the city does have legal remedies if companies fail to comply, Gallego said.

Businesses don’t face any new fines or legal hurdles under Phoenix’s ordinance change. Employers who violate the law already can face penalties. Violators can be convicted of a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail, probation and a $2,500 fine. Reporter Dustin Gardiner contributed to

this article.