Report:  Historic Gender Pay Gap in DA’s Office Eliminated by Rice

On National Pay Equity Day, county Comptroller says that Rice’s efforts raised salaries for women attorneys 17%

MINEOLA, NY – Since taking office three years ago, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice has nearly eliminated the office’s historic 33% gender pay gap, while raising the average pay of women attorneys 17%, according to a report recently released by Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman. 

The report issued by the county’s chief fiscal watchdog says that prior to Rice taking office women attorneys made 67% of the salary of their male counterparts.  Today, that number has climbed to 95%.  Rice says that the small and rapidly shrinking gap that remains is a mere function of the 180 attorney salaries on the payroll at this particular moment, rather than a sign of the type of sizable and systemic discrepancy in pay that existed in the past.

The analysis and the release of the report coincides with today’s designation of National Pay Equity Day, an awareness campaign launched by the National Committee on Pay Equity to highlight the historical disparity between the wages of men and women.  On average nationally there exists a wage gap that has hovered around 25% over the last decade.

Rice requested the analysis be performed to determine whether her administration’s efforts have been successful in shrinking the wage gap that existed in the District Attorney’s Office prior to her taking office.

The report says that the average salary of men serving as assistant district attorneys in December 2005, the month immediately prior to Rice taking office, was $92,578.62.  Women serving as assistant district attorneys during the same time period were making an average of $69,446.76 per year.  Those statistics amount to a 33% gender wage gap.

According to the comptroller’s report, men now make $85,315.76 on average, with women making $81,222.69 per year on average.  Rice said that to close the pay gap her office remedied several unexplained salary variations and set up general pay guidelines that ensure that equal pay is given for equal work.  “We fixed the individual cases of unexplained disparity that existed in the past, we raised the pay of women who were historically underpaid for the work they were doing, and we set up a system that ensures that in the future young women attorneys and the most senior women attorneys are getting pay equal to what their male counterparts get paid for the same work.  By taking these important steps, we have eliminated the gap in equal pay to a point where the 5% difference is no longer systemic or a sign of inequality but merely a function of who the employees are on our payroll at this particular time.”

“I’m proud that in three short years, we have come a long way towards eliminating the pay disparity that existed in this office,” said Rice.  “But we have more work to do.  There exists no reason and I will accept no excuse for anything less than absolute pay equity for the employees of this office.”

After taking office, Rice appointed the first two women executive assistant district attorneys in the office’s 110-year history.  The office’s three executive assistant district attorneys are the most senior officials in the office and report directly to the District Attorney.  They include the chief assistant district attorney and two prosecutors who oversee the office’s litigation and investigations.

Under the prior administration, only 23% (8 of 35) of the office’s managerial and supervisory posts were held by women.  Under Rice that number has climbed to 53% (20 of 38). 

“Pay equity is not enough,” said Rice.  “Women need to be given equal access to promotional opportunities and advancement in their work places.  I want to show young women out there that they can do this job and that not only will they be paid equally for their public service, but that they too have the ability to serve in any role within this office – from entry level prosecutor to executive to District Attorney.”