Obama cracks down on pay gap with rules for reporting pay data by gender, race

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last updated 30 January 2016

President Obama announced Friday a new rule that will require companies with 100 or more employees to report pay data by gender, race, and ethnicity, CNN reports. The information will be acquired on forms submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which already collects information about employees' sex and age.

Friday's announcement arrives on the seventh anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was the first piece of legislation Obama signed as president; it loosened the statue of limitations for workers to sue employers for pay discrimination based on gender, race, age, or a disability. Republicans have spoken out against Obama's measures, arguing that gender discrimination is already illegal so additional actions are not necessary, The New York Times reports.

"This won't solve every problem," Obama said Friday. "We've still got to get more women and girls into high paying fields like science and technology, engineering and math. We've still got to make sure women are not penalized or held back in the workplace simply for starting a family." He went on to joke that, "Guys, we're responsible for the family thing too. They're already doing more work than we are in getting that thing going."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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