Black Business Groups Backing Assemblymember Dodd's Equal Pay Bill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - June 29, 2016 - PRLog -- The Solano Black Chamber of Commerce, Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce and the Bay Area Business Roundtable have signed on to support Assemblymember Bill Dodd's (D-Napa) Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (AB 1890). The legislation would require large contractors with the state to start collecting wage data by occupation, gender and race. The groups' backing of the proposed law was announced by their representative, business owner K. Patrice Williams, when she spoke before the Senate's Governmental Organization Committee during a hearing on the bill Tuesday.

"We all know that women make less than men, but each of these organizations support AB 1890 because it has strong wage data reporting requirements," Williams told the committee. "If we are going to fix gender wage inequalities, we must first have the statistical data to document the extent of the problem. This bill will give us that data."

Williams spoke on behalf of African American business organizations that have members throughout Solano, Sacramento, Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Dodd's bill would require the collection of wage data by job title, gender and race.  Current law requires the collection of gender and race statistics by job category, but not wages information. It would also require contractors to have wage equity polices in place and annual reporting on their efforts to close the gender and race pay gap.

U.S. Census data has historically shown pay disparities by gender and race.  The average white female worker makes 79% of what a non-Hispanic white male makes; the African American woman 66% and the Hispanic woman 55%.

AB 1890 is expected to go before the Senate's Appropriations Committee and on to the full Senate in late August for approval.

K. Patrice Williams is an attorney, registered lobbyist and founder/CEO of BrandGOV, Inc. Her firm specializes in community and government outreach on a variety of policy issues, including social justice concerns. The Sacramento and Solano Black Chambers serve members throughout their respective counties and the Bay Area Business Roundtable is a group of business and community leaders who work to improve the economic well-being of unprivileged communities.

For more information on William's remarks and advocacy on the pay equity issue, please contact her at 707-557-7007 or via email at Patrice@brandgov.com. You may also visit BrandGOV, Inc. at www.brandgov.com.