Research was needed to discover where gains occurred and where they did not.Įnforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act came in 1971, with the landmark Supreme Court case Phillips v. But given that economies, labor markets and policies change in every state, many different factors contribute to maintaining persistent gaps. "But one thing we've learned from this research is that legislation, mixed with strong enforcement, did a lot to narrow pay gaps."īailey says that one of the difficulties in evaluating the effectiveness of the laws has been that federal legislation applies across the entire U.S.
"There's been a longstanding concern that these laws did not change practice on the ground," Bailey said. Department of Labor's enforcement and awarding of back pay motivated some employers to do away with wage discrimination in contracts and negotiations. The research found that an examination of more granular data shows that the gender gap decreased between the 1960s and 1980s in certain states and certain jobs.īetween 19, wages for women increased an average of 11% and by more in lower wage jobs. But now, economic researchers, in a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, bring positive news, according to Martha Bailey, UCLA professor of economics and the paper's lead author.
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