Nike, Target, Patagonia among White House equal pay pledgers

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Aug 29, 2016

The U.S. White House announced on Friday the new signatories to the White House Equal Pay Pledge. Apple, Nike, Target, Patagonia, Ikea US, Unilever and Facebook are among the 29 new signatories.

 
The White House Equal Pay Pledge launched at the first-ever United State of Women Summit, encouraging companies across the American economy to take action to advance equal pay. The pledge is part of President Obama’s fight for equal pay in the US that began when he was sworn into office. The President signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act in 2009 to narrow the pay gap.
 
Each company shared remarks for signing the pledge, and they all share the same sentiment that all people, regardless of gender, identity, age, sexual orientation and ethnicity, should be paid equally and treated fairly.

Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario mentioned in her remarks that the company also offers onsite childcare and paid time off for new mothers and fathers. “We have an equal number of women and men at every level of the company, including among executive positions and the boardroom,” she said. “Women and men are paid equally for comparable work. All of these things amount to a work environment where 100 percent of women return to work from maternity leave, 100 percent of dads take paid time off from work to bond with their new babies, and the business thrives as a result of the working families we support in our business.”
 
The first White House Equal Pay Pledge signatories from June 2016 included Amazon, Gap, L’Oréal USA, Rebecca Minkoff and Stella McCartney among others.