OPM: Equal pay for equal work is a must

The Office of Personnel Management and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission today issued a memo reminding agencies how important it is to eliminate the pay gap between men and women in the federal government.

The government says it does a better job than most equalizing pay — between 1988 and 2007, the pay disparity fell from 28 cents on the dollar to 11 cents (or 7 cents when factors such as occupation, education and experience are controlled for). Overall, women in the United States today earn about 23 percent less on average than men earn.

“We take our obligation to ensure that the federal government is a model employer very seriously, and are working to ensure that all federal employees have the opportunity to realize the promise of equal pay for equal work,” OPM Director John Berry and EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien said in their memo. “OPM and EEOC are working together to ensure the most rigorous possible enforcement of our federal equal pay laws in federal sector employment. Representatives from our agencies are working with the [Government Accountability Office] to identify the reasons for this wage gap and ways to close it. “

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