MINEOLA, NY - Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman hosted a discussion with a distinguished group of local leaders to celebrate Women’s History Month. The discussion also recognized “Equal Pay Day” and honored essential workers who provided leadership and/or service during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Due to social distancing practices, the event was live streamed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NCComptroller.
“A key focus of our work at the Comptroller's Office has been to shine a light on equity gaps as well as promoting solutions to close those gaps right here in our communities,” said Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman. “To that end, the Comptroller’s Office has released a new policy report on Women in the Workforce that highlights some key challenges, key figures, and potential solutions.”
The new “Women in the Workforce” policy report is available on the Open Nassau Transparency Hub at opennassau.nassaucountyny.gov/whm. The report highlights several key figures, including that: • Full-time working women in the United States earned a median of 82 cents to every dollar that full-time working men earned in 2019. o Black women are paid 63 cents for every dollar. o Native American women are paid 60 cents for every dollar. o and Hispanic women earn just 55 cents for every dollar. o At the current rate, it will take until 2059 to reach pay parity in the workforce. • The average woman working full-time in Nassau County today still earns only 77.8 percent compared to the average man.
- The National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) reports that lifetime work gap costs "the average American woman and her family an estimated $700,000 to $2 million, impacting Social Security benefits and pensions.”
- Since the pandemic began, nearly 2.5 million women in the United States have left the workforce.
- The women's labor force participation rate has not been this low since 1988.
Honorees and Guest Speakers included:
- Dr. Elisabeth Ploran – Assistant Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience, Hofstra University
- Hon. Viviana Russell – Councilwoman, Town of North Hempstead, Co-Chair, Nassau County Local
- Government Subcommittee of the Nassau County Complete Count Committee for the 2020 Census
- Stacey Jackson-Harley – Chief Operating Officer, Long Island Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Nikki Kateman – Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW, Member, Nassau County Comptroller’s Office Living Wage Advisory Board
- Officer Victoria Ojeda – President, Nassau County Police Hispanic Society
- Donna Raphael, MA – Senior Director, Family and Children's Association, Long Island
- Onika Shepherd – Local 1199 SEIU, Member, Nassau County Comptroller’s Office Living Wage Advisory Board
- Janet Walsh – Director, The Children's Greenhouse child care center
“From Rosie the Riveter to today’s modern working woman, it is undeniable that women have worked hard and made tremendous progress in the workforce,” concluded Schnirman. “However, it is equally undeniable that there is still work ahead to create a level playing field for women and many single mothers who currently sit at a distinct economic and social disadvantage. As we emerge from COVID-19 and beyond, now is the time to make progress at all levels of government on closing these gaps.”