Workforce Equity
Improving Pittsburgh's Livability through Workforce Equity
In November 2020, the Gender Equity Commission launched a new Workforce Equity Initiative:
Workforce Equity
- fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people due to the absence of avoidable bias and
- the presence of person-centered, positive, and generative structural supports
- that promote valuing difference and intentionally include marginalized and intersectional groups of people.
Thank you to Commmissioners Sarah Hansen, Amanda Neatrour, and Janet Manuel, of the GEC's Workforce Equity Committee, for their visionary leadership and all their hard work to make this initiative a reality.
Learn about the context and methodology for the intiative:
Approach to Enabling Workforce Equity
The GEC is taking a 3-pronged approach to enabling workforce equity.
Empowering Individuals
Pittsburghers! Take advantage of trainings proven to help individuals self-advocate on the job market, including with salary negotiation, one of the mechanisms by which women's earnings continue to stay lower than men's. The wage gap is real and you can see below that local black women's wages did not catch up to white men's from 2019 until November 6, 2020. The GEC is partnering with AAUW for this part of the initiative. Visit the AAUW online portal for our city.
Pittsburgh Workforce Equity Council and Commitment
Updates coming soon! Email genderequity@pittsburghpa.gov to express your interest in learning more.
Policy Interventions
Based on insights and data collected from the first two prongs, the GEC will be recommending changes to city government policies and practices to enable greater equity.
Background
The Gender Equity Commission tackles city-wide inequality by focusing on human rights, reliable data, and evidence-based strategies for change. Our work requires an intersectional methodology and deep understanding of diverse local communities. Read about our Gender Analyses here.
Based on the findings from the 2019 report about Pittsburgh's Inequality Across Gender and Race(PDF, 7MB) , throughout 2020, the GEC worked in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office and other City of Pittsburgh departments in order to craft solutions to challenges that were exposed or confirmed.
Focusing on changes that are needed to make our city truly livable for all, in June 2020, the GEC presented 11 policy recommendations to Pittsburgh City Council and the Mayor’s administration. The GEC encourages local employers and communities in general to join city government in adopting actionable equity policy strategies described in Building an Equitable New Normal(PDF, 853KB).
Contact
Email genderequity@pittsburghpa.gov for more info.