State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said equal pay is an economic issue that affects the state and the country during a discussion of wage equality Sept. 17 at UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division. The Telegram & Gazette and Charter TV3 reported on the roundtable.
Massachusetts became the first state to require equal pay for women in 1945. But those on a panel at Goldberg’s roundtable discussion say the law is not being enforced.
“It impacts families, it impacts consumer spending, it impacts social services, it impacts people’s comfortable retirement,” Goldberg said. “We don’t need more laws, we don’t need more legislation. We need people to do it.”
The discussion in Shrewsbury was the third in a series of five regional roundtables in which Goldberg and her statewide Advisory Committee on Wage Equality are seeking input on equal pay. Goldberg said committee goals include developing a wage equality toolkit for businesses and a state-run website for resources on pay equity, and hosting a conference on best practices for closing the wage gap.
“It is the law, it’s the right thing to do and it’s good for business,” said panelist Joyce A. Murphy, executive vice chancellor of Commonwealth Medicine.
Murphy said the wage gap affects all economic lines, white collar and blue collar. She cited recent reports about a gender gap in research funding at the state’s academic health science centers, including UMass Medical School.
