The Trump administration has stopped an Obama-era rule requiring large companies to report how much they pay workers by race and gender, NBC News reported. The rule was intended to help close the persistent wage gap between men and women, as well as between racial groups, through greater pay transparency.
"While I believe the intention was good and agree that pay transparency is important, the proposed policy would not yield the intended results," said Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and adviser, who came to Washington promising to fight for working women.
In a recent study, Cornell University economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn found that 38 percent of the wage gap may be due to discrimination, rather than differences in occupation, work experience, education and other individual choices.
Despite the White House’s inaction, a growing number of states and municipalities are passing new laws requiring pay transparency for government contractors, and employees themselves are pushing for greater salary disclosure.