OWP news and events
County latest to sign pledge championed by California First Partner
On December 16, 2024, the County of Santa Clara announced today that it has signed the California Equal Pay Pledge – joining more than 200 California employers committed to closing the gender pay gap. By doing so, the County has committed to conducting annual company-wide gender pay analyses, reviewing hiring and promotion processes and procedures to reduce unconscious bias and structural barriers, and promoting best practices to help close the pay gap and ensure fundamental equity for all workers.
California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom launched the California Equal Pay Pledge as part of her California for ALL Women initiative in 2019. The pledge, which is a partnership between the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and the California Partners Project, builds upon the state’s nation-leading equal pay laws to help close the existing gender pay gap.
California has some of the strongest equal pay laws in the country, but women in the state still earn 89 cents for every dollar a man earns. These numbers plummet for women of color, mothers, and members of the LGBTQ community. The gender pay gap creates staggering financial losses for California women.
Since the launch of the Pledge, First Partner Siebel Newsom and program partners have hosted roundtables, educational briefings and published the California Equal Pay Playbook to address the impact of pay inequities on working women and their families. More information on the California Equal Pay Pledge is available here.