N.Y. Comptroller Stringer, NYC Funds: Equal Pay Initiative Drives Transparency at 5 Major Companies

NEW YORK, March 31 -- New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer issued the following news release:

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- Five major healthcare and insurance companies targeted by New York City Retirement Systems agreed to disclose gender pay equity in order to increase opportunity and advancement of women in the workplace

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New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and the New York City Pension Funds today announced that five major healthcare and insurance companies will disclose new information on how they identify and eliminate gender pay disparities among their employees. The companies reached settlements in response to the New York City Retirement Systems' shareholder proposals asking the companies to identify whether there exists a gender pay gap among the company's employees, and if so, the measures being taken to eliminate any such pay disparities and to facilitate an environment that promotes opportunities for equal advancement for women. HCA Healthcare, Loews Corporation, and The Cooper Companies agreed to provide enhanced disclosures with respect to gender pay equity. Cerner Corporation agreed to undertake a project to redesign its workforce architecture and to re-examine its employment practices to ensure best-in-class selection, advancement and rewards practices are utilized across its workforce, and will confirm parity in compensation across similar jobs in the new architecture. Assurant, Inc. also agreed to take additional steps to analyze gender pay equity among its employees.

"We're continuing to build on the progress we've made as investors to increase gender pay equity nationwide," said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. "Women are leaders in the workplace and make enormous contributions to every industry, and they deserve to be compensated fairly. When women succeed, our economy succeeds. Gender pay equity disclosures should be market standard, and I applaud these companies for taking a stand by committing to doing their part to close the pay gap. We still have more work to do, and I look forward to working with more companies in the near future to create equal opportunities for the advancement of women."

The five companies making new, meaningful disclosures and taking significant steps for transparency on gender pay equity include:

* HCA Healthcare - Committed to publish gender pay equity statement in its Impact Report and/or on its website, and have further discussions on disclosure.

* Assurant, Inc. - Undertaking steps to assess and provide enhanced disclosure of gender pay equity.

* Cerner Corporation - Conducting a workforce architecture and pay equity analysis review and will disclose in its 2020 proxy statement.

* Loews Corporation - Committed to disclose gender pay equity in its 2020 Sustainability Report.

* The Cooper Companies - Committed to fair and equitable pay disclosure on its website.

In its third year, the New York Retirement Systems' pay equity initiative calls on insurance and healthcare companies - which have the largest adjusted pay inequities of major U.S. industries - to publicly commit to ending the gender pay gap and increase transparency on existing disparities.

Nationwide, women are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to an annual gender wage gap of $10,194, according to the National Partnership for Women & Families. As a result of the five 2020 settlements, 30 healthcare and insurance companies since 2017 have agreed to disclose information on how they address gender pay equity in response to shareholder proposals from the New York City Retirement Systems. The New York City Retirement Systems' initial decision to target the healthcare and insurance industries was based on a 2016 study by Glassdoor that showed that, of 25 industries studied, the healthcare and insurance industries had the largest unexplained gender pay gap after controlling for geography, age, education, and years of experience. Significantly, a 2019 study by Glassdoor found that, since 2015, the health care industry was among those industries that have had the largest reductions in gender pay gaps.

Comptroller Stringer serves as the investment advisor to, and custodian and a trustee of, the New York City Pension Funds. The New York City Pension Funds are composed of the New York City Employees' Retirement System, Teachers' Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund and the Board of Education Retirement System.

In addition to Comptroller Stringer, the New York City Pension Funds' trustees are:

New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS): New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer; Mayor Bill de Blasio's Representative, John Adler (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Borough Presidents: Gale Brewer (Manhattan), Sharon Lee (Queens), Eric Adams (Brooklyn), James Oddo (Staten Island), and Ruben Diaz, Jr. (Bronx); Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Tony Utano, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

Teachers' Retirement System (TRS): New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer; Mayor Bill de Blasio's Appointee, John Adler; Chancellor's Representative, Lindsey Oates, New York City Department of Education; Natalie Green Giles; and Debra Penny (Chair), Thomas Brown and David Kazansky, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

New York City Police Pension Fund (PPF): New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer; Mayor Bill de Blasio's Representative, John Adler; New York City Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha; New York City Police Commissioner Dermot F. Shea (Chair); Roy T. Richter, Captains Endowment Association; Louis Turco, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; Edward D. Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Michael Palladino, Detectives Endowment Association; and, Patrick Lynch, John Puglissi, Joseph Alejandro, and Anthony Cacioppo all of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

New York City Fire Pension Fund (Fire): New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer; Mayor Bill de Blasio's Representative, John Adler; New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha; Gerard Fitzgerald, President, Robert Eustace, Vice President, Edward Brown, Treasurer, and John Kelly, Brooklyn Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Liam Guilfoyle, Captains' Rep.; Paul Mannix, Chiefs' Rep., and Jack Kielty, Lieutenants' Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Peter Devita, Marine Engineers Association.

Board of Education Retirement System (BERS): Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza; Mayoral: Isaac Carmignami, Natalie Green Giles, Vanessa Leung, Gary Linnen, Lori Podvesker, Shannon Waite, Miguelina Zorilla-Aristy; Michael Kraft (Manhattan BP), Debrorah Dillingham (Queens BP), April Chapman (Brooklyn BP), Geneal Chacon (Bronx BP) and Peter Calandrella (Staten Island BP); and employee members John Maderich of the IUOE Local 891 and Donald Nesbit of District Council 37, Local 372.