Elizabeth Warren Unveils Plan for Getting Women of Color Paid More Fairly

By Lauren Evans | July 5, 2019 | 3:10pm

Elections

Sen. Elizabeth Warren—who in this muddled primary has definitely distinguished herself as the Candidate with Plans—on Friday unveiled a proposal to close the gender pay gap, with a particular focus on women of color.

In her latest in a series of Medium posts, Warren points out that “employers tilt the playing field against women of color at every stage of employment,” noting that when hiring, employers often use salary history to make new offers, perpetuating the trap of low-wages. Once employed, black and brown women are disproportionately the victims of sexual harassment and discrimination, and have limited access to executive roles.

Most Popular

“The experiences of women of color are not one-dimensional: sexual orientation, gender identity, and ability all shape how a person’s work is valued in the workplace,” Warren writes. “But our economy should be working just as hard for women of color as women of color work for our economy and their families. For decades, the government has helped perpetuate the systemic discrimination that has denied women of color equal opportunities. It’s time for the government to try to right those wrongs — and boost our economy in the process.”

Warren’s plan centers around promoting equity in the private sector by imposing new rules on companies seeking federal contracts, diversifying senior positions in the federal government, and strengthening enforcement against systemic discrimination.

This plan follows a proposal released in June that would close the so-called entrepreneurship gap by providing $7 billion in funding to help women and minority-owned businesses get off the ground.

Polls show that Warren is still lagging behind Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, though election season is long, baby, and Warren’s certainly got more plans up her sleeve.