The Women’s Foundation advocated for the reform to promote gender pay equity
KANSAS CITY – In a milestone for efforts to combat the gender pay gap, Kansas City’s new salary history ban will take effect this Thursday, October 31st. Sponsored by Councilman Scott Wagner and passed unanimously by the Kansas City Salary Council in May 2019, Ordinance No. 19038 bans employers from asking about a job applicant’s salary history.
“This ordinance is a great step toward breaking the cycle of pay inequity and ensuring women aren’t held back or discriminated against because of their previous salaries. Women in Kansas City are paid just 79 cents for every dollar earned by men, and women of color face even wider pay disparities – undercutting their economic potential and weakening our economy," said Wendy Doyle, Women’s Foundation President & CEO. "We’re so proud that Kansas City has embraced solutions to empower women in the workplace with policies like paid family leave and salary history bans. No woman should be denied equal pay for equal work just because her last job paid her less than her male colleagues.”
Under the ordinance, employers located in Kansas City, Missouri with six or more employees are prohibited from:
Inquiring about the salary history of an applicant for employment; or
Screening job applicants based on their current or prior wages, benefits, or other compensation, or salary histories, including requiring that an applicant’s prior wages, benefits, other compensation or salary history satisfy minimum or maximum criteria; or
Relying on the salary history of an applicant in deciding whether to offer employment to an applicant, or in determining the salary, benefits, or other compensation for such applicant during the hiring process, including the negotiation of an employment contract; or
Refusing to hire or otherwise disfavor, injure or retaliate against an applicant for not disclosing his or her salary history to an employer.
Individuals who believe an employer has violated this new ordinance and wishes to file a complaint can contact the Civil Rights Division of the city’s Human Relations Department. Online forms are available at: https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/departments/human-relations/filing-a-discrimination-complaint-civil-rights-division
In Kansas City, the overall gender pay ratio is 79 percent (a 21 percent gap). In Missouri and Kansas overall, women are paid 78 cents and 77 cents, respectively, for every dollar made by men.
Women nationwide are typically paid 80 percent of what men are paid, but women of color face pay disparities that are far wider. The gender pay gap widens to 61 cents for Black women, 58 cents for Native American women and 53 cents for Latinas.
Last year, the Women’s Foundation joined the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and Mayor Sly James to announce AAUW Work Smart in Kansas City, the first phase of a large-scale initiative to help close the gender pay gap by empowering 1 million women to successfully negotiate their salary and benefits across Kansas and Missouri.
In 2015, Women's Foundation developed pay equity best practices in partnership with the University of Missouri. The Pay Equity Best Practice Guidelines seek to improve standards for pay equity and achieve measurable results with best practices for employers in both the private and public sectors.
The full report and guidelines are available at http://www.womens-foundation.org/equal-pay
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