Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed an executive order mandating a biannual pay equity audit of the City of Chicago workforce, a recent press release published by the mayor's office said.
Lightfoot signed the order alongside Department of Human Resources (DHR) Commissioner Christopher Owen, Office of Budget Management (OBM) Director Susie Park, and Department of Assets and Information (AIS) Commissioner Sandra Blakemore. The audit will be conducted by the three aforementioned departments and focus on identifying racial and gender pay discrepancies, with the goal of addressing pay inequities in the labor market and promoting Chicago's commitment to closing the gaps.
“I am deeply proud of the ways in which my administration has centered equity, particularly around gender and race,” Lightfoot said in the release. “These announcements, which will address gender and racial pay gaps, underscore my commitment to making the City of Chicago a leader in creating safer and more equitable workplaces. I call on partners in the private sector, as well as my colleagues at our Sister Agencies, to join me in not only taking an intentional look at their own workforces but pursuing policies that create better, more inclusive workplaces for all employees.”
Lightfoot also announced that Chicago will be launching mandatory training for all municipal staff members focusing on addressing gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace. The training will be conducted in partnership with Futures Without Violence's "Workplaces Respond to Domestic and Sexual Violence: A National Resource Center" program. The initiative will begin in March with a day-and-a-half training session for all commissioners, making the City's public sector workforce one of the largest to take part in the training.
“As one of the largest employers in Chicago, it is critical that we lead by example, take action to ensure that our policies and employer practices are equitable, and provide a workplace where employees feel safe from harassment,” Owen said in the release. “The bi-annual pay equity audit and citywide GBV and Harassment Prevention training will help us in our efforts, and I’m proud to help ensure that the City of Chicago continues to center workplace equity.”
Under Lightfoot's leadership, Chicago has taken various actions to promote workplace equity; including expanding paid parental leave to 12 weeks for all City employees, strengthening citywide sexual harassment laws, passing the Bodily Autonomy for All ordinance to prevent workplace retaliation and discrimination based on reproductive health care of gender-affirming care, and passing a resolution recognizing the Transgender Day of Resilience and supporting Hire Trans Now. The City has also raised the minimum wage, implemented the Fair Workweek Ordinance and staffed the Office of Labor Standards to strengthen workers' rights education and enforcement, among other actions.