Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin are pushing for a bill to strengthen Wisconsin's current laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace.
The bill would give employees found to be discriminated against the opportunity to recover compensation for their damages, and create a new committee to prevent and eliminate wage disparities.
Wisconsin ranks low, No. 46 in the nation, at employing women in managerial and high-paying positions.
Lawmakers say many women may not recieve promotions they deserve on merit because of gender discrimination.
As long as women and minority's choices are more constrained, they will be forced to accept a lower wage, said UW-Madison sociology professor Myra Ferree.
""As long as there's any discrimination within the system with regard to employment, you would expect to see discrimination in the system in terms of salaries, unless salaries are set by formal rules,"" she said.
Wisconsin's inflation-adjusted gender gap actually grew from 2000 to 2005, even as the national gap closed, said a study done by the Center of Wisconsin Strategy and the Wisconsin Women's Council. The median wage for working women in Wisconsin is 25 percent lower than the men's median wage.
Wisconsin women labor force participation stands at a rate of 66.6 percent, ranking it fifth in the nation, the study found. However, only 29.8 percent of working women in Wisconsin are employed in managerial and professional positions.
The bill has been proposed in the past and is now in its fourth session, but has never been passed by the legislature.
The bill would also order employers to pay discriminated person compensatory damages in an amount that the circuit court deems appropriate, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.
The defendant of discrimination lawsuits would also be ordered to pay to the circuit court a surcharge equal to 10 percent of the amount of compensatory damages ordered. The surcharge would be used to fund a committee that would study and recommend solutions and policy alternatives to prevent those wage disparities.
""There's still a lot of legitimate sex discrimination around,"" Ferree said. ""Even if only 10 percent of employers discriminate, it reduces minority's options.""
