Politics | President Obama Obama Signs Exec Orders to Boost Equal Pay Twin moves seek to reduce gender pay divide By Matt Cantor Posted Apr 8, 2014 12:12 PM CDT Copied President Barack Obama applauds as he speaks at Bladensburg High School, Monday, April 7, 2014, in Bladensburg, Md. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) On National Equal Pay Day, President Obama is taking action to fight the gender wage gap among federal contractors. Today, he signed an executive order requiring the companies to publish their wage data by gender and race, thus pushing them to adhere to laws on equal pay, al Jazeera America reports."Penalizing pay secrecy is an important step that sends a strong message," says a VP for the National Women's Law Center. The move doesn't apply to private companies, though a Senate vote today could help change that. But the bill in question has twice failed to get through Congress, al Jazeera notes. Meanwhile, a second executive order today bars federal contractors from retaliating against workers who exchange information on their salaries, the Washington Post notes. "Pay inequity is a real and persistent problem that continues to shortchange women, their families, and our economy as a whole," says Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. Read These Next Actor Sam Rockwell gets residuals from movie he wasn't in. Gavin Newsom has filed a massive lawsuit against Fox News. Rick Hurst, Dukes of Hazzards' dopey deputy, dies at 79 New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. Report an error