Fifty years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, women continue to be paid less than men in nearly every occupation. Because pay is a fundamental part of everyday life, enabling individuals to support themselves and their families, the pay gap evokes passionate debate. Although the data confirming the persistence of the pay gap are…

Rigidity is setting in that obscures reasonable discussion of the imperfections of a free market where women's wages are concerned, and increases the likelihood that comparable worth, if implemented, might substitute one set of arbitrary job evaluations for another. (MLW)

With the possible exception of No Child Left Behind, no federal law has posed a greater compliance challenge to public school districts in the past ten years than the Fair Labor Standards Act. Unfamiliarity with the Act and its application in the school environment has resulted in millions of dollars in payment of settlements to school district…

Gender discrimination and wage inequity remain problems worldwide. In the United States and Canada, where equal rights and protective legislation have been in place for nearly 40 years, glaring disparities in salaries and job opportunities remain. Similar problems have been studied in the United Kingdom, leading to enactment of the 1975 Sex…

Analysis by decade of the effects of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 shows that women's earnings relative to men's increased by 10 cents from 1960-1990. Black and Hispanic women's earnings lagged further behind. More education and experience did not help women narrow the gap. (SK)

Outlines the legal implications of comparable worth and recent court cases involving equal pay isues. Points out that where jobs are comparable and wages disparate without justification, courts have found employers guilty of wage discrimination. (MD)

Comparable worth has emerged as a concept used primarily as a way of establishing equity, particularly in compensation for employed women. Study and implementation of the comparable worth concept are occurring most frequently in state and local governments. State action and federal initiatives are described. (MLW)

Discusses ways to close the gap between the courts' approach to applying Federal law to sex-based and race-based wage discrimination and the law's potential to change wage inequities. Discusses the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Explores ways the court applies these laws. (JS)

Discusses legal and practical problems which prevent the full implementation of the concept of equal pay for jobs of comparable worth. Reviews legislative history of Title VII, the case of "County of Washington vs. Gunther," and other recent litigation, focusing on the impact of comparable worth on educational institutions. (IW)