Memo is One of Series of Actions

The OPM report is a response to a White House directive of nearly a year ago telling OPM to examine agency personnel practices that might be leading to disparities in pay based on gender and recommend any changes needed. OPM recommended no changes in the GS pay system but it has told agencies to examine their use of pay authorities that allow for higher starting salaries on grounds of superior qualifications of the candidate—men benefit from those initial pay boosts more than women, the report found. (It also found, though, that women receive promotions and quality step increases at slightly higher rates.) The report and memo follow the Senate’s failure to meet a 60-vote threshold to pass a pay equity bill that would have applied to the federal workforce as well as to the private sector by strengthening legal rights under the Equal Pay Act. The White House meanwhile has issued several directives requiring government contractors to provide detailed reports on any gender differences in pay by their employees and barring them from retaliating against employees who discuss their salaries among themselves; however, those orders do not apply to the federal workforce.