Utahns will have an opportunity next month to share how they’ve been affected by the gender wage gap in the state.
The Utah Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is holding a public briefing Oct. 3 on the topic at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law in Salt Lake City.
The committee is “tasked with conducting a qualitative study on a civil rights topic unique to their state and voted in a previous meeting to focus on the gender wage gap,” Ana Fortes, civil rights analyst with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, said in an email.
Utah has continued to have one of the largest gender pay gaps in the country. In 2017, Utah had the second-highest pay gap for women, of $14,997, behind Louisiana’s gap of $15,737, according to an analysis from the National Partnership for Women and Families released earlier this year.
The briefing will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 3 in rooms 6613 and 6619 at 383 South University Street. No reservations or tickets are required.
Two open comment sessions will be held at 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. People can fill out a short form at check-in and will have roughly three to five minutes to speak. Written testimony can also be submitted to afortes@usccr.gov until Nov. 30.
The committee will receive testimony on the factors that may cause or contribute to the gender wage gap, the impact of the wage gap on individuals on the basis of sex and race, and the impact of federal and state level level enforcement efforts aimed to address pay inequity, according to a news release.
It has been collecting “recent reports, previous testimonies submitted to Congress and related news articles,” according to Fortes.
“Following the meeting, the committee will issue its findings and recommendations in a report to the commission,” the news release states.
“This is an opportunity to bring different perspectives together to be better understand the scope and potential causes of the problem here in Utah,” Chyleen Richey, chair of the committee, said in the release. “We also look forward to considering short-term and long-term solutions to make a difference in addressing the important issue.”
In addition to the open comment sessions, the briefing will include discussions with panelists, including Valerie LaCarte, of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, and Maya Raghu, of the National Women’s Law Center, among others.
Additional details can be found at bit.ly/2mG090z.
Becky Jacobs is a Report for America corps member and writes about the status of women in Utah for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today.
