Last year, after the state legislature established Colorado Pay Equity Day, a newly created commission went to work gathering data on the state’s gender wage gap.
The Pay Equity Commission, which included representatives from advocacy and policy organizations, academia, small and large businesses, and organized labor, recently released its report.
The study found that Colorado’s women on average earned about 79 cents to the dollar earned by the average Colorado man.
Recommendations include:
• Conduct self-audits of pay equity across gender and racial groups.
• Encourage the Colorado Department of Labor to work with business groups to create an inventory of best practices to close the pay gap.
• Create a transparent pay system so employees understand why they are receiving their current pay, as well as what factors contribute to receiving more pay. Transparency need not make all pay public but would clarify minimum and maximum pay grades for job titles and grades.
For a copy of the full report, go to .
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
