Drafter
Clerk 10/20/2015
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A MOTION supporting 100% Talent, a Gender Equity Initiative for King County; naming King County as a founding member; and committing financial and in-kind resources.
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WHEREAS, our region is home to a diverse, skilled, educated and creative workforce that supports some of the most innovative and recognizable companies in the world, and
WHEREAS, King County boasts a higher percentage of women in the workforce than Washington state and the nation, and
WHEREAS, in 2013, women in King County who worked full time, year-round earned just seventy-six cents for every dollar earned by men, and
WHEREAS, King County government is one of the top ten largest employers in the region, and
WHEREAS, women working for King County government earn a fraction of a penny more on the dollar than men, and
WHEREAS, as an organization King County is deeply committed to promoting gender equity and social justice, and is specifically committed to closing our own wage gap for women of color, who make only ninety cents on the dollar relative to white men, and
WHEREAS, the King County women's advisory board transmitted a report to the executive and the council on January 23, 2015, titled, Improving Wage Equity and Promoting Family Friendly Workplace Policies throughout King County, and
WHEREAS, the first recommendation of the women's advisory board report is to create a public/private compact pledging to end the wage gap and encourage family friendly workplace policies, and
WHEREAS, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Women's Funding Alliance are leading 100% Talent: A Gender Equity Initiative for King County, with the goal of getting five hundred companies to pledge to help close the gender wage gap in our region, and
WHEREAS, the 100% Talent compact is based on and will continue to use best-practices from around the country, and
WHEREAS, by signing on to the compact, organizations agree to:
1. Identify gender equity issues, collect data internally and understand the root causes of inequity within their company;
2. Implement at least three best-practice solutions and monitor progress;
3. Share best practices and successes with other organizations; and
4. Invest in 100% Talent, and
WHEREAS, King County recognizes that closing the wage gap not only has profound benefits for the workplace and our regional economy, it is also foundational to our strategic plan values of equity and fairness, and
WHEREAS, as a member of 100% Talent, King County will receive benefits such as training, best-practice sharing and other tools with which to support our own gender-equity work,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
A. King County supports 100% Talent: A Gender Equity Initiative for King County and makes the 100% Talent pledge to help close the gender wage gap.
B. King County will serve as a founding member of 100% Talent and commit resources to the initiative.
C. King County will identify and commit to implementing at least three of the thirty-three recommended best practices identified to close the gender wage-gap.