The City of Tempe will award Equal Pay Business Partner designations on Wednesday, April 5, for the first time, making Tempe the first city in Arizona to have an equal pay designation.
The designation is for local businesses that have shown proof that it provides equal pay for equal work to its employees. April 5 is the day after Equal Pay Day, a day that signifies the number of days on average it takes an American woman to earn the same amount of money as an American man.
The inaugural group of businesses to receive the Equal Pay Business Partners certifications will receive the designation by Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell and members of the city council on April 5 in the City Council Chambers.
“We are looking forward to the day Equal Pay Day is no longer needed,” Mitchell said. “I applaud the companies large and small that have made the commitment to equal pay and have a payroll that backs up the philosophy.”
The Equal Pay Business Partner program requires companies complete a worksheet to determine if they are providing equal pay. Payroll numbers do not have to be submitted to the city. Businesses that need some work to get to the equal pay designation can receive coaching from Tempe’s Office of Strategic Management and Diversity.
Those that qualify receive Equal Pay Business Partner status, which gives businesses the opportunity to use the Equal Pay Business Partner logo on their own websites and in hiring materials. The City of Tempe will also host a list of these businesses online.
“In Tempe, companies are often competing for the best employees. This designation is an excellent hiring advantage,” Diversity Manager Ginny Belousek said.
The City of Tempe will be part of the first class of businesses and organizations that receive the Equal Pay Business Partner designation. Mayor Mitchell will apply the logo to the Tempe City Council Chambers. Other business designations will be announced at that time.
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report in 2014, women’s median earnings for full-time wage and salary workers were 83 percent of the earnings their male counterparts. The Washington Post has examined how it isn’t so easy to determine the actual wage-gap and how statistics on equal pay can be mis-leading.
