Boston aims to be first city to erase the gender... -

Boston aims to be first city to erase the gender wage gap - The Boston Globe

Boston has the best-educated women of any major US city, and now Mayor Thomas M. Menino is trying to make it a better place for them to earn a living.

The goal: to make Boston the first city to eliminate the wage gap between men and women. Menino plans to announce this initiative Thursday, when he rolls out a compact signed by 38 employers that have committed to ending pay disparities.

The mayor’s interest in the issue is personal. He has four granddaughters, ages 12 to 15.

“I’m thinking about what kind of city I want for them, and for their daughters, too,” Menino said.

Menino wants to have 50 companies sign the compact by year's end. Nationally, women earn 77 cents for every dollar men make. In Boston, it’s 83 cents to the dollar and a difference of almost $10,000 a year, or about $400,000 over a career, according to a report by the newly formed Women's Workforce Council.

Next step: let’s get the entire country to end this wage gap.

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