Tag: Wage gap

The Voting Rights Act Is Under Threat. So Are Workers’ Rights.

Fred Redmond, AFL-CIO Secretary – Treasurer

In our workplaces, in our communities and in our government, the right to vote is how working people make our voices heard. The late Rep. John Lewis (Georgia) proclaimed, “Your vote is precious, almost sacred.” The Supreme Court’s recent decision allowing Texas to use a racially discriminatory congressional map threatens that precious right once again—and with it, the foundation of worker power itself.

A challenge out of Louisiana may soon make matters worse, threatening to further limit the strength of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965—the nation’s most powerful tool for correcting historical racial discrimination in voting, including the violence and suppression once used to keep Black voters from the polls.

The VRA was brought to life by courageous civil rights and labor leaders who risked everything to end racial discrimination at the ballot box. The law transformed American democracy by dramatically increasing Black political participation, expanding representation at every level of government and giving working people a real chance to shape the decisions that affect their lives.

This fight is part of the labor movement’s history too. In 1963, labor leaders were key architects of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and labor unions mobilized 40,000 union members and provided resources. We offered critical lobbying support and testimony in support of the Civil Rights Act and the VRA—the passage of which in 1965 led to the filing of thousands of successful cases against workplace discrimination and eliminated many of the racist voting restrictions in the South. When Black voter turnout surged, so did worker power, especially in the S outh, where the VRA helped create a diverse coalition of working-class voters.

According to research from the University of California San Diego, the VRA narrowed the wage gap between Black and White workers by 5.5% between 1950 and 1980. Another study found that high-turnout communities saw more paved roads and streetlights; better access to city and county resources; and easier entry into public sector jobs such as police, firefighters and teachers.

The lesson is clear: A strong democracy gives working people space to thrive. When democracy is weakened, workers pay the price.

In 2013, the Supreme Court issued its Shelby County v. Holder decision and gutted the VRA, ruling that states with histories of racial discrimination no longer needed federal approval to change voting laws. Almost immediately, a race to the bottom began. States wasted no time closing polling places, shortening early voting hours and passing restrictive ID laws. The targets were clear: young people, shift workers and communities of color—the same groups driving today’s organizing momentum. In the years since Shelby, wages for Black teachers, city workers and health care aides have fallen, while corporate power has only grown stronger.

The Texas congressional map offers a glimpse of a future without the VRA: diluted working-class voices in a system that answers only to the wealthy few. These attempts to roll back the clock on racial progress should sound an alarm. When politicians get a green light to manipulate voting maps and take intentional steps to block representation on the basis of race, they can use that power to dismantle protections for union power, fair wages and retirement security.

Democracy depends on rules that keep it fair. Those in power understand this—and some are working overtime to erase the rules entirely. But America’s unions have never accepted a world where working people are silenced. We fought for the Voting Rights Act because this movement knows our fight for fair pay, safe jobs and dignity at work is the same fight as the struggle for the ballot box.

Workers built this democracy, and we will defend it. We will continue to push Congress to do its job and pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to fully restore and permanently protect voting rights and ensure access to free and fair elections.

Voting rights are a labor issue—because when democracy breaks down, worker power breaks down with it.

Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American labor official in history, is the secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, representing 64 unions and nearly 15 million workers.

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Fred Redmond AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer and NNPA Newswire

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December 16, 2025
Majority of women have never asked for a raise. Here’s how to negotiate for a higher salary

Asking for a pay raise is no easy feat, particularly for women.

More than half of women around the world have never asked for a raise before, according to a 2024 study by job listings site Indeed. Of the 43% who asked, three in four received a pay increase.

Additionally, 61% of women globally believe “they need to work harder for recognition than their male counterparts,” according to the survey, which polled more than 14,500 women across 11 countries.

According to research from Indeed, here’s the percentage of women who have asked for a raise in each country surveyed:

One Asian country stands out from the pack: India. Women in India were the most confident, with 65% of the respondents saying they have sought out a pay raise in the past.

“Female respondents in India were consistently more optimistic than their global counterparts,” Nishita Lalvani, marketing director for India and Southeast Asia at Indeed, told CNBC Make It. Indian women also reported having more satisfaction when it comes to steps their employers were taking to close the gender wage gap.

However, women in Japan and Singapore were the least confident when it came to asking for a salary increment, the survey showed. Only 13% of women in Japan and 32% in Singapore said they’ve asked for a raise before.

Globally, 24% of the women surveyed said they lacked opportunities to ask, while 28% said they were afraid of negative consequences. Additionally, 28% of women said they did not have the confidence to bring up the conversation.

“Women generally find it more of a challenge to self-advocate for a promotion and/or pay raise,” Aileen Tan, chief human resources officer with AIA Singapore said.

Having the drive and ambition are crucial if you want to build a successful and fulfilling career. This must be coupled with the ability to deliver and execute on plans.

Alieen Tan

Chief human resources officer, AIA Singapore

“I learnt early in my career that ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained,’” she told CNBC Make It. “It is equally important to be willing to raise your hands and step out of your comfort zone because all opportunities will come with its own set of risks.”

Here are six tips on how to best navigate a salary negotiation, according to HR experts.

Do your research

Prior to the conversation, it is important to find data on salary benchmarks for your role online and discuss with peers so you can be best informed before entering the meeting, said Pooja Chhabria, career expert and Asia-Pacific head of editorial at LinkedIn.

It’s imperative to have “clarity of thought” about what you think your compensation should be prior to the discussion, she told CNBC Make It.

Be confident

Although having the salary conversation can be daunting, ultimately, being well prepared will help you find confidence during the conversation. Practicing with a friend or a mentor beforehand can also help you identify ways to perfect your delivery.

“I always believe that it takes a lot of effort to look effortless. So that confidence will always come from having that clarity of thought having done that research,” she adds.

It is also important to understand what your manager and company cares about, and to keep that in mind throughout your conversation. After all, the point of a negotiation is to reach a “mutually beneficial outcome.”

Prepare your pitch

Preparing your pitch should begin before the conversation is set to take place. It is important to include specific achievements, and be prepared to address any objections from your manager.

“Be very clear about what is it that you’re going to tell your manager, starting with showcasing your value [and] giving examples of industry benchmarks,” Chhabria suggests. It’s also important to “address concerns where there could be constraints around budgets,” she said.

Additionally, “having a mentor to advocate for you is key,” says Aileen Tan. “[My mentor] helped me build up confidence and provided a good sounding board.”

Schedule a meeting

It is important to schedule a meeting in advance and to make clear that you would like to discuss compensation and career development. Don’t spring the conversation on your manager unexpectedly or frame it casually.

Additionally, be strategic with the timing of the meeting. “For example, if everybody’s really busy with the launch a new product launch and everybody’s really all hands on deck, maybe that’s not the right time,” she says.

Showcase your value

As they like say for college essays: “Show, don’t tell.” It’s the same with salary negotiations.

It’s crucial to bring examples of how you’ve helped solve problems and create a positive impact in the past. Quantifying your examples with numbers can also help during your negotiation.

“Communicate the impact that you’ve driven through your role, through your work, through the results that you’ve driven, tying it back to what the company and your team objectives are,” Chhabria suggests.

Be professional

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March 7, 2024
The Highest Paying College Majors With 100K Starting Salaries | Entrepreneur

Choosing a college major can be a key determinant in one’s financial trajectory after graduation. But for women, the majority still opt-in to fields with significantly lower payouts than men, a new report found.

A new study by Bankrate looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey in 2021 and examined median salaries based on 150 college majors and found that the most lucrative college majors are dominated by men.

Even though women now make up over half of the college-educated workforce (50.6%) in the U.S., according to Pew Research Center, women still earn 18% less than men. What’s the key factor contributing to the gender pay gap? The disparity in college majors. Men are choosing engineering and computer science fields, while women tend to gravitate toward lower-paying majors like early childhood education and social work, the report found.

Bankrate found that 78% of bachelor’s degree holders in the 20 highest-paying majors are men, with median salaries ranging from $85,000 to $110,000, primarily in STEM fields. The degree with the highest median earning potential, electrical engineering, had a median salary of $110,000, and 85% of students with the major were men — only 15% were women.

Related: From Meta to McDonald’s, Here’s How Major Companies Are Working to Close the Gender Pay Gap

The only high-earning majors not heavily dominated by men are pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, and administration, where the median salary is $100,000, and composed of 56% female degree holders as compared to 44% for men. Women are still overrepresented in lower-earning fields, such as nursing, social work, and general education, where median salaries start at $43,000 and peak at $70,000 — a roughly 60% difference from the $110,000 peak for male-dominated degrees.

The study attributes these disparities to stereotypes, socioeconomic challenges, and societal expectations that influence women’s choices of majors and careers.

“Research shows that as men become more concentrated in majors, we then as a society tend to place more value on that field,” Natasha Quadlin, associate professor of sociology and faculty fellow at the California Center for Population Research at UCLA, said in the report. “It’s mutually reinforcing in that whatever men end up choosing and whatever men are highly concentrated in, those are the fields that are going to be seen as desirable and the most highly compensated.”

Related: 5 Ways Women Can Fight the Gender Pay Gap (Besides Asking for More Money)

Here are the top 10 highest-earning bachelor’s degrees, according to the report, along with the percentage of male and female degree holders.

1. Electrical engineering

Median salary: $110,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 85%

Percentage of female degree holders: 15%

2. Computer engineering

Median salary: $104,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 81%

Percentage of female degree holders: 19%

3. Pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences, and administration

Median salary: $100,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 44%

Percentage of female degree holders: 56%

4. Chemical engineering

Median salary: $100,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 70%

Percentage of female degree holders: 30%

5. Computer science

Median salary: $100,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 78%

Percentage of female degree holders: 22%

6. Aerospace engineering

Median salary: $100,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 89%

Percentage of female degree holders: 11%

7. Materials engineering and materials science

Median salary: $98,500

Percentage of male degree holders: 77%

Percentage of female degree holders: 23%

8. Engineering mechanics, physics, and science

Median salary: $95,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 84%

Percentage of female degree holders: 16%

9. Mechanical engineering

Median salary: $95,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 89%

Percentage of female degree holders: 11%

10. Industrial and manufacturing engineering

Median salary: $90,000

Percentage of male degree holders: 72%

Percentage of female degree holders: 28%

You can read the whole study, here.

Madeline Garfinkle

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September 7, 2023
As ‘bougie broke’ videos trend on social media, experts say that’s not necessarily a bad thing

Photo taken in Amalfi, Italy

Sergio_pulp | Istock | Getty Images

“Have you ever been broke, but no one believes you because you don’t look like a broke person?”

New videos trending on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are asking that very question.

“The thing is, like you broke, but like a bougie broke, like you ‘broque,’” one narrator said.

“Even on payday you broque,” also spelled “broké.”

The reels are often accompanied by lavish scenes, from restaurant meals with abundant food to travel scenes from locales such as Positano, Italy.

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Social media has upped the ante when it comes to showing off users’ lifestyle or experiences. The new videos show off the same coveted lifestyles with a wink: “You think I can afford this, but little do you know what’s in my bank account.”

Experts say that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“Money is so taboo,” said Emily Irwin, managing director of advice and planning at Wells Fargo’s Wealth & Investment Management.

“To talk about that, to put it out there in a very vulnerable way, I think is also empowering of others to even start the conversation,” Irwin said.

‘Bougie broke’ is changing money conversations

“Bougie broke” describes the state of “always barely having adequate funds,” whether it be in cash, accounts or on credit cards, according to the Urban Dictionary.

The term is not new.

But the term is trending in a unique set of circumstances — inflation that recently pushed the rate of price increases to the highest in four decades, an already high cost of living that has made achieving major life goals such as buying a home feel out of reach, and a pandemic that tempted more people to prioritize live-for-today experiences.

Generally, “hedonic or conspicuous” spending with the aim of making other people see you in a certain way is not a good thing, according to Dan Egan, vice president of behavioral finance and investing at Betterment.

But the new bougie broke videos may have a positive influence in destigmatizing an uncomfortable topic — feeling conflicted about spending decisions.

It’s like asking, “What do other people think? Am I the only one here who feels this way?” Egan said.

“There’s definitely a trend towards every generation being a little bit more comfortable talking about things that were serious stigmas in previous generations,” Egan said.

The bougie broke videos highlight the fact that people prioritize different things, and you never know what’s totally behind what you’re seeing, Irwin said.

While you may assume someone’s flashy lifestyle comes with plenty of extra room for savings and the achievement of other big financial goals, that is not necessarily true, she said.

“To dispel that whole notion is really cool, I think,” Irwin said.

This could be a super-interesting way to put your goals out there and hold yourself accountable.

Emily Irwin

managing director of advice and planning at Wells Fargo’s Wealth & Investment Management

Not only do the videos take the stigma out of admitting you’re “bougie broke,” the platforms also offer a new way to share personal goals and hold yourself accountable, she said.

“One of the most impactful steps of setting goals is actually communicating them with someone,” Irwin said.

Whether it’s an audience of one or 1 million, knowing people are listening can help push you to keep going, she said.

“This could be a super-interesting way to put your goals out there and hold yourself accountable,” Irwin said.

Next up: ‘quiet luxury,’ ‘premium mediocre’

Another trend that’s catching on — “premium mediocre” — may have a powerful impact on how people live, Egan said. The term describes goods and services that are just slightly above average, say a six or seven out of 10.

For some things, say when it comes to the salad you eat, the difference in quality is probably not that different from what a billionaire consumes.

Part of the bougie broke trend is separating who you think of as being well off from those who visibly spend a lot of money, he said.

More truly wealthy people are pulling back from showing off their wealth in favor of quiet luxury, Egan said. Ultimately, that’s a good thing.

“We’re decoupling that sense of spending money as a signal for wealth versus spending money for spending money,” Egan said.

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July 8, 2023
As new data shows inflation rose in January, here’s what consumers can expect next

Shoppers look at items displayed at a grocery store in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2023.

Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

A new U.S. government reading showing persistent high inflation rattled Wall Street on Friday.

Consumers can expect the rate of price growth will likely stay higher than average through 2023.

“Inflation is going to come down gradually, if the Fed conducts policy the way it says it intends to,” said William Luther, director of the American Institute for Economic Research’s Sound Money Project.

“We’re looking at higher than normal price increases, certainly through 2023 and probably through much of 2024, as well,” Luther said.

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The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure for inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index, showed headline inflation rose 5.4% from a year ago as of January and 0.6% for the month. Core inflation excluding volatile food and energy prices increased 4.7% and 0.6% for the month.

Declines in inflation that have happened since June actually reversed in January.

“It’s possible that this is just a blip, that we had more price increases in January and fewer price increases in December,” Luther said.

Earlier this month, the consumer price index, a separate government measure, also showed higher than expected inflation for January, with a 6.4% gain over 12 months and a 0.5% increase for the month.

While the inflation rate is poised to subside this year, “it will not be a straight line,” Raymond James chief economist Eugenio Aleman told CNBC.com at the time.

The Federal Reserve is tasked with getting inflation under control, while trying to avoid a deep economic recession.

What the latest inflation measure shows

The personal consumption expenditures price index, or PCEPI, is the central bank’s preferred measure as it seeks to bring inflation down to a 2% target.

There are two reasons why the PCEPI may be a better measure than the CPI, according to Luther.

First, the PCEPI measures all consumption expenditures, including those that are not coming directly out of consumers’ discretionary income, such as those made on their behalf by the government or employers.

“It puts more accurate weights on the categories of expenditures that are being made in the economy by consumers,” Luther said.

We’re looking at higher than normal price increases, certainly through 2023 and probably through much of 2024, as well.

William Luther

director of the American Institute for Economic Research’s Sound Money Project

The CPI, on the other hand, only looks at a basket of goods purchased from individuals’ discretionary incomes. Moreover, the basket of goods the CPI tracks is updated every year, while the PCEPI gets updated each month.

That really matters in cases where you have some individual prices that are changing a lot, according to Luther.

More interest rate hikes ‘almost a certainty’

The Federal Reserve has undertaken a series of interest rate hikes to tamp down inflation.

Based on Friday’s data, it’s “almost a certainty” the central bank will raise rates by 25 basis points in March, and maybe even higher, Luther said.

“If we continue getting these high inflation readings, it will have little choice [but] to go even further,” Luther said.

Prices will not come down

Organic eggs were priced at more than $11 per dozen at a store in Walnut Creek, California, on Feb. 10, 2023.

Smith Collection/gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images

As the Federal Reserve brings inflation down to a 2% target, prices will still continue to grow, albeit at a lower rate, Luther noted.

However, prices that have risen during high inflation will not return to where they were before.

A period of below 2% inflation would be needed to see prices subside back to where they were, Luther said.

Why wage growth is uneven

Even amid the highest inflation in 40 years, things could have been much worse for the typical household, Luther noted.

Median real wages are more or less where they were prior to both the pandemic and record high inflation kicking in, he said.

As prices shot up, many employees who saw their real wages decline were likely able to get new jobs or renegotiate with their current employers to push up their nominal wages, Luther said.

However, there may have been a lag between the price and wage increases, which may have hurt those households.

To be sure, not every household may have been able to negotiate for higher nominal wages, which means their income has not kept up with inflation, Luther noted.

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February 24, 2023
California forces companies to show pay on job listings, revealing big tech salaries

Steve Proehl | Corbis Unreleased | Getty Images

A new law that went into effect this week requires most California employers to disclose salaries on job listings.

The law affects every company with more than 15 employees looking to fill a job that could be performed from the state of California. It covers hourly and temporary work, all the way up to openings for highly paid technology executives.

That means it’s now possible to know the salaries top tech companies pay their workers. For example:

Notably, these salary listings do not include any bonuses or equity grants, which many tech companies use to attract and retain employees.

California is the latest and biggest of the states and cities that have enacted pay transparency laws, including Colorado and New York City. But more than 20% of Fortune 500 companies are based in California, including leaders in technology and media, and advocates hope that California’s new law will be the tipping point that turns posting salary information into standard practice.

In the U.S., there are now 13 cities and states that require employers to share salary information, covering about 1 in 4 workers, according to Payscale, a software firm focusing on salary comparison.

California’s pay transparency law is intended to reduce gender and race pay gaps and help minorities and women better compete in the labor market. For example, people can compare their current pay with job listings with the same job title and see if they’re being underpaid.

Women earn about 83 cents for every dollar a man earns, according to the U.S. Census.

“You’re going to need a lot of different elements in place in order for men and women to get paid the same for the same amount of work and the same experience,” said Monique Limón, the California state senator who sponsored the new law. “And one of those is transparency around salary ranges.”

But the new disclosures under the law might not tell the whole story of what a job pays. Companies can choose to display wide pay ranges, violating the spirit of the law, and the law doesn’t require companies to reveal bonuses or equity compensation.

The law could also penalize ambitious workers who are gunning for more money because of their experience or skills, the California Chamber of Commerce said last year when opposing the bill. Some employers might be wary of posting pay to prevent bidding wars for top talent.

In a comment to CNBC, a Meta spokesperson said, “To ensure fairness and eliminate bias in our compensation systems, we regularly conduct pay equity analysis, and our latest analysis confirms that we continue to have pay equity across genders globally and by race in the US for people in similar jobs.” The firm also noted that it generally pays full-time employees in equity as well as cash.

Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new law

There are two primary components to California Senate Bill No. 1162, which was passed in September and went into effect Jan. 1.

First is the pay transparency component on job listings, which applies to any company with more than 15 employees if the job could be done in California.

The second part requires companies with more than 100 employees to submit a pay data report to the state of California with detailed salary information broken down by race, sex and job category. Companies have to provide a similar report on the federal level, but California now requires more details.

Employers are required to maintain detailed records of each job title and its wage history, and California’s labor commissioner can inspect those records. California can enforce the law through fines and can investigate violations. The reports won’t be published publicly under the new law.

Limón said the bill helps narrow pay gaps by giving information to people so they can negotiate their pay better or determine if they are being underpaid for their experience and skills. It will also help the state make sure companies are following existing equal pay laws.

“The reason this is important is that we are not able to address problems that we cannot see,” she said.

Limón said she also hopes that the requirement will help California companies recruit the best talent and compete against other states that don’t require employers to post salaries.

Pay transparency laws could also spur companies to raise wages after they see that rivals are offering higher salaries. Some companies could even choose to post salary ranges on job listings where it’s not required.

Ultimately, she said, helping to ensure women and people of color are getting paid equally will help California’s economy.

“The consequence is not just for an individual; there are economic consequences for the state for people being underpaid,” Limón said. “That means that their earning power and how they’re able to contribute to this economy in California, whether it’s through a sales market, a housing market, through investment, is limited, because they are not being paid equitably.”

Loopholes

The new law doesn’t require employers to post total compensation, meaning that companies can leave out information about stock grants and bonuses, offering an incomplete picture for some highly paid jobs.

For high-paying jobs in the technology industry, equity compensation in the form of restricted stock units can make up a large percentage of an employee’s take-home pay. In industries such as finance, bonuses make up a big portion of annual pay.

“Especially for tech employees, ultimately people want to know how much they’re getting in total compensation,” said Zuhayeer Musa, co-founder of Levels.fyi, a firm focused on recruiting and coaching for technology workers which crowdsources compensation. “Sometimes stock compensation can be more than 50% of your actual total comp.”

Musa said stock from big tech companies is basically liquid because it can be immediately sold on the stock market.

The new law also allows companies to provide wide ranges for pay, sometimes ranging over $100,000 or more between the lowest salary and the highest salary for a position. That seemingly violates the spirit of the law, but companies say the ranges are realistic because base pay can vary widely depending on skills, qualifications, experience and location.

Companies may be open to hiring candidates with a range of experience — starting from entry level to a more senior person — for a particular opening, said Lulu Seikaly, senior corporate attorney at Payscale.

Seikaly said she recommends clients post job listings with a specific seniority level to narrow the potential pay range.

“When we talk to customers, and they ask what do you think is a good-faith range, we tell them that’s a business decision, but the way we would do it, especially from the legal side, if you post by levels, that’s going to cover you a lot more than posting one wide range,” Seikaly said.

Some California companies are not listing salaries for jobs clearly intended to be performed in other states, but advocates hope California’s new law could spark more salary disclosures around the country. After all, a job listing with an explicit starting salary or range is likely to attract more candidates than one with unclear pay.

“I was telling some folks this morning that pay transparency right now is kind of the exception,” Seikaly said. “Give it five to 10 years, I think it’ll end up being the norm.”

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January 6, 2023