Editing Equal pay for equal work (section)

====Minnesota====

In [[Minnesota]], the state began considering a formal comparable worth policy in the late 1970s when the Minnesota Task Force of the Council on the Economic Status of Women commissioned Hay Associates to conduct a study.   The results were staggering and similar to the results in Washington (there was a 20% gap between state male and female workers pay).  Hay Associates proved that in the 19 years since the Equal Pay Act was passed, wage discrimination persisted and had even increased over from 1976 to 1981.<ref>Cook, Alice H.  Comparable Worth: A Case book of experiences in states and localities.  Industrial Relations Center: University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1985, pg. 141</ref>  Using their point system, they noted that while delivery van drivers and clerk typists were both scaled with 117 points each of "worth" to the state, the delivery van driver (a male-dominated profession) was paid $1,382 a month while the clerk typist (a female dominated profession) was paid $1,115 a month.<ref>"Pay Equity: The Minnesota Experience: Fifth Edition."  Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women, April 1994, pg. 13.</ref>   The study also noted that women were severely underrepresented in manager and professional positions, and that state jobs were often segregated by sex.   The study finally recommended that the state take several courses of action: 1) establish comparable worth considerations for female-dominated jobs; 2) set aside money to ameliorate the pay inequity; 3) encourage affirmative action for women and minorities and 4) continue analyzing the situation to improve it.   The Minnesota Legislature moved immediately in response.  In 1983 the state appropriated 21.8&nbsp;million dollars to begin amending the pay disparities for state employees.<ref>Stewart, Debra A.  "State Initiatives in the Federal System: The Politics and Policy of Comparable Worth in 1984."  Publius, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Summer 1985), pg. 91.</ref>  From 1982 to 1993, women's wages in the state increased 10%.  According to the Star Tribune, in 2005 women in Minnesota state government made 97 cents to the dollar, ranking Minnesota as one of the most equal for female state workers in the country. Five years later in 2010, full pay equity for women in state employment was finally achieved, with recurring, typically minor pay adjustments in local governments occurring regularly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-pay-equity-achievement/202027901/|title=EDITORIAL {{!}} Minnesota's pay equity achievement|website=Star Tribune|access-date=2019-10-08}}</ref>