"New York leads the nation in progressive values – setting the bar high for other states to follow suit, and it is critical that we do all we can to address the wage gap in our country," Governor Cuomo said. "This wage gap study will ensure that we are evaluating every possible solution to ending this egregious inequity once and for all."
Women working in New York State earn 89 cents for every dollar earned by men – the lowest wage gap of any state in the nation according to federal data. The wage gap is even greater for African-American women and Latinas.
The state will accept written submissions and hold at least four public hearings, which will be announced soon, across the state to solicit testimony from academic experts, workers, business owners and others who wish to present solutions to end of the wage gap in New York State.
All written testimony should be submitted to payequity@labor.ny.gov and must be received before June 1, 2017. Submissions should be limited to identifying specific causes of the gender wage gap and suggestions on ways in which the wage gap can be closed, either in its entirety, or in particular industries.