The Minnesota Senate passed the Women’s Economic Security Act, a bill designed to ensure equal pay and employment security for women, on Wednesday.

In Minnesota, the pay gap means women earn 80 cents for every dollar that men earn, according to the American Association of University Women.

“The basic idea is to close the gender pay gap and to provide support for working women in various ways,” Susan Stabile, professor of employment law, said.

The House of Representatives passed a different version of the bill on April 9. The legislation will now go into congressional conference committee in order to resolve differences between the two versions, Stabile said. A conference committee is a group of members from both sections of Congress that work to resolve differences within a piece of legislation.

The version passed by the House includes a number of different provisions that will affect all aspects of women’s role in the workforce, Stabile said. The legislation will extend unpaid maternity and family leave, as well as expanding access to high-quality, affordable childcare. According to Stabile, the bill will also provide unemployment benefits to workers who have quit their jobs because of sexual assault or stalking, and includes provisions to ensure companies are complying with equal pay laws.

The version passed by the Senate, however, does not include expanded access to childcare or requirements for equal employment in spite of family caregiver status, the Women’s Economic Security Act website said. The Senate version includes the additional provision that would bring a perspective on women and nontraditional work to the Governor’s Workforce Development Council.

“Part of the goal of the statute is designed to help on pay issues, part of it is designed to make workplaces more family-friendly and part of it is designed to provide additional protection for women,” Stabile said.

Stabile said one of the most important pieces featured in both versions is the provision that protects women from retaliation if they discuss compensation within the workplace. She said, currently, some employers do not allow workers to talk about compensation with co-workers.

“What this basically says is no, you can’t retaliate against people who discuss compensation because really the only way people can find out if they’re being paid unfairly is to be able to talk to other people in the workplace,” Stabile said.

Stabile said legislation of this nature is needed not only because of the gender pay gap but also because of women’s family responsibilities.

“Part of it is recognizing that women don’t get paid as much as men do,” Stabile said. “The other part is recognizing that women, despite being in the workforce, still bear a disproportionate burden of child rearing.”

Sophomore Hannah Wagener said equal pay would reflect the current social structure.

“It doesn’t make sense that one gender be compensated more for the same work,” Wagener said. “I want to know if men can look at their daughters and tell them that they deserve to be paid less for the same job.”

Rebecca Mariscal can be reached at mari2162@stthomas.edu.