The women’s commission held a meeting on Oct. 27 to create a pay equity website. The website’s main purpose is to educate women in Phoenix to demand they are treated fairly in the workplace.
The women’s commission is taking Tempe’s website as a blueprint to reach audiences in Phoenix.
“It was obvious that they had put a lot of effort into not only working on Pay Equity within their city and for their city workers, but also really a lot of work into the content that they were providing to the community,” said commissioner Nicole Acevedo.
The pay equity website in Phoenix will be different from Tempe’s as it will offer benefits for its employees and businesses.
“This is a way to really get them recognized for the work that they’re doing – to create an environment where other businesses may want to get on board and start doing these things,” said commissioner Kyle Zegarski. “Because they see the rewards, they see the benefits that people are getting from it.”
The women’s commission is also planning to offer in-person training at the Phoenix library to engage with its citizens and reach those who don’t have access to technology such as cell phones.
“I think another piece of the outreach would be working in tandem with like places like our local libraries, to offer in-person training,” Acevedo said. “I think the library is probably the most natural fit for people who you know, people who are probably coming in to utilize digital resources there anyway.”
The website will be able to tell women what they should be paid according to their job.
“I think that’s something that people fail to do frequently like they don’t realize that they can literally go online and in ten minutes they can find out what is the average pay for your job in your city,” Zegarski said.
Education is a big part of the website as it targets women who are already in the workforce and women who will potentially enter the workforce. In addition, the commission plans to offer training on ASU’s campus to educate students about pay equity.
“It would be neat to be able to do some type of outreach, I think, for students to especially, you know, our female students, letting them know that these tools exist for them, especially as they start to enter the workforce,” Acevedo said.
The website’s primary purpose is to get women to ask for more in their jobs.
“For anyone that’s ever negotiated either a new position or salary increase, the first time you do it, it is such a huge confidence boost, and you have those skills, you get such, it feels amazing,” said Acevedo. “Then you have those skills that you can then use again and again and share those skills with other women.”
For women who are scared to stand up to their bosses or employees, Zegarski has some advice.
“I think going in there with as much information as possible and a strong business case,” Zegarski said. “If you ask and they say no, you wait another year and add more to your skillset, resume and you ask again. So I don’t think there’s a downside to going through this training.”
The existing training in Tempe is virtual. People can go through the training videos at their own pace.
“If we were to do the training, possibly on an ASU campus or at a library, we want to do those in person so it can go back to the budget that we’re asking from the city,” Zegarski said.
“And to be able to pay those trainers to go out and host those workshops.”
The women’s commission website will allow the city of Phoenix to create change in the workforce.
“It establishes the city of Phoenix as a place that’s attractive for employees that are looking for businesses that want pay equity and want equality and want to see a diverse, healthy, vibrant workforce within the city,” said Acevedo.
Contact the reporter at fgalanma@asu.edu.
