SALISBURY — The American Association of University Women Salisbury Branch hosted its November meeting featuring guest presenter Katie Pincura, North Carolina AAUW Policy chair, on Nov. 13 from 6:30 – 8 p.m. via Zoom, with the purpose of exploring gender pay and fair pay practices in the state of North Carolina.

According to AAUW’s report, “The Simple Truth About the Gender Wage Gap,” a pay gap exists at all levels of work in almost every occupation. In fact, there is a gender pay gap in every state that cuts across all age groups and demographics, widening significantly for women of color. 

Moreover, this inequity greets formally educated women immediately upon graduation and grows wider throughout their lifetime. Thus, AAUW branches and members have undergone various measures to help alleviate the strains of the gender pay gap, a phenomenon that is persistent and harmful to women’s financial well-being.

Considering Executive Order 93 issued by Governor Roy Cooper that bans North Carolina state-level offices from requesting applicants’ salary history, Katie Pincura shared the results of a special project performed by the Western Carolina branch members. As the team conducted an audit of county job applications statewide to gain a clearer picture of the practice of requesting salary history data of job applicants in North Carolina, they found approximately 80 of North Carolina’s 100 counties requested a salary history on job applications. Most notably, Rowan County is non-compliant with the order. 

Da’Tarvia Parrish, Salisbury’s branch president, explained, “The inquiry of a job applicant’s salary history is an unfair yet common part of the hiring process because employers have historically used that information to determine someone’s worth in the market.” 

Salisbury Branch members shared city applications, in particular Rowan-Salisbury Schools, the City of Salisbury water and utilities and the Salisbury Police Department, and on the applications of Food Lion, Catawba College and Livingstone College, a salary history is requested. 

Moreover, members agreed as Salisbury is a close-knit community, simply bringing this to the attention of employers could be a solutions-driven outcome. 

As AAUW Salisbury is very interested in pay equity and find certain questions, especially about previous salary, disadvantage those who may have experienced low pay due to gender and/or ethnicity bias, the branch asks employers within Rowan County who request work experience details, including the candidate’s prior monthly salary, to revisit their practices. 

Ultimately, states across the country are increasingly enacting salary history bans, and a growing body of evidence demonstrates a correlation with subsequent higher pay rates for women. The Salisbury Branch is asking all county and city officials to consider removing salary history from Rowan-Salisbury job applications and revising human resources policies to stipulate a ban on the consideration of salary history in pay packages. 

Three facts to know:  

Women working full-time in the U.S. are paid 84 percent of what men earn. At the current rate of change, women will not achieve pay equality until 2088.

The pay gap contributes to the wealth gap. It makes it difficult for women to amass savings, build wealth and achieve economic security. Overall, the average American woman has a net worth of $5,541, less than half of the $12,188 average net worth of a man. In terms of overall wealth, a single woman has only 32 cents for each dollar a single man has, and the wealth gap is even wider for women of color, who have just pennies for every dollar a white male has.

The pay gap follows women into retirement. As a result of lower lifetime earnings, women receive less in Social Security and pensions. Women collect only 80 percent of what men collect in Social Security benefits and just 76 percent in pensions. White men over 65 have an average annual income of $44,200, while white women over 65 must get by on $23,100, Black women on $21,900, and Latinas on $14,800.