Ivanka Trump backs end to gender pay gap data

Washington, Sep 1 (IANS) The US government has announced that it was ending a rule on gender gap wage data collection, a move supported by President Donald Trump's daughter and senior White House advisor Ivanka Trump, the media reported.

In a memo sent earlier this week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) informed the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that it was initiating a review and immediate stay of a form that required businesses with over 100 employees to collect pay data by gender, race and ethnicity.

Though Ivanka Trump's initial inclination was to keep the data collection going, she was convinced by arguments from those opposing the rule, a White House official told CNN on Thursday.

"Those against the rule advocated that it was ineffective and burdensome to employers."

"Ultimately, while I believe the intention was good and agree that pay transparency is important, the proposed policy would not yield the intended results," Ivanka Trump said in a statement.

"We look forward to continuing to work with EEOC, OMB, Congress and all relevant stakeholders on robust policies aimed at eliminating the gender wage gap."

Ivanka Trump has made women's economic empowerment a key initiative for her White House portfolio as an advisor to the President, CNN reported.

Her portfolio also includes paid family leave, a childcare tax credit, workforce development, ending human trafficking and promoting education for science, technology, engineering and math.

Women make up almost half the US workforce, but earn 82 per cent of the full-time weekly paycheck of a man, per the Institute for Women's Policy Research's annual report.

Black women earn 63 per cent and Latina women earn 57 per cent of the full-time weekly pay of a white man, the report showed.

Former President Barack Obama initiated the data collection action in January 2016, a move recommended by his administration's Equal Pay Tax Force.