Apple, Facebook and Target, along with 26 other American companies, have signed onto the White House’s Equal Pay Pledge, the Obama administration announced Friday, in an effort to eliminate the gender pay gap.
The announcement — which was made on Women’s Equality Day — included a promise by employers to conduct a yearly analysis of pay by gender, as well as review hiring and promotion processes.
General Motors released a statement announcing it had signed onto the pledge, saying, “GM is supporting this pledge because it reflects our shared belief that employees’ gender should not factor into compensation decisions. We believe that fair and equitable pay should be an essential element of any successful business model and are proud to stand with other companies that share this same value.”
The pledge, which was announced in June during the United State of Women Summit, is the latest effort by the Obama administration to address the gender wage gap.
Women in general earn 79 cents for every dollar men earn, according to US Census bureau reports.
When the earnings of women and men with the same job title, education and experience at similar companies are analyzed, women are still paid less, but the gap is significantly narrower. A recent study by Glassdoor found women earned 95 cents for every dollar their male colleagues in those instances.
