The truth about Philly’s gender pay gap | Morning Newsletter
And several Philly region law enforcement officers have ties to Oath Keepers
The Morning Newsletter
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Expect another beautiful day with clear skies and a high of 76.
Research comes out fairly often reminding us that we have a hefty road ahead to achieve pay equity along gender lines. Introduce the intersectionality of race, and the disparities often get larger.
Philadelphia has a smaller pay gap compared with the rest of country ... but it’s not worth celebrating. Our lead story grapples with the complexities of that truth.
We have a lot of news, so let’s dive in.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Philadelphia may be closer to gender pay equity than the rest of the country, but it’s far from good news.
This is the result of everyone getting stuck with low wages.
🎤 And now, I’m passing the mic to data reporter Aseem Shukla, who worked on the deep-dive analysis with fellow reporter Ximena Conde:
When the five-year American Community Survey data came out earlier this year, we were looking into all kinds of things — Who are the immigrants in our region? How does our population growth compare with other cities? How many people are in poverty?
As part of that, we asked about the wage gap between genders. We knew that Pennsylvania was slightly worse than the national average, but how did Philly compare?
To answer, we had to dig into a more granular dataset than just the tables the Census publishes. It required a lot of nuance, and the numbers alone tell only part of the story, so we also talked to scholars, activists, and individual women about how and why the gender gap persists.
It’s important to come out with this now, at a moment of economic uncertainty. The dust from the pandemic hasn’t settled, and there are early indications that women left the workforce in higher numbers than men. Pay inequity is a persistent issue, and even clear solutions aren’t always implemented.
When you’re done with the main story, be sure to check out the takeaways.
At least five active law enforcement members in the Philly suburbs appeared on a leaked membership list for the Oath Keepers.
All five — two state constables and three police officers — either denied involvement with the group or declined to comment.
Necessary context: The Oath Keepers were founded in 2009 by libertarian political operative and veteran Elmer Stewart Rhodes. They recruit current or former law enforcement, military, and first responders, emphasizing the “oath” some take to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
Their leadership promotes antigovernment conspiracy theories and has come under intense scrutiny for its role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
About a dozen members of the group have been identified as Capitol rioters. Federal authorities have accused the group’s leader of stockpiling weapons and rallying members to storm the U.S. Capitol to keep former President Donald Trump in office.
The scope: The Anti-Defamation League Center for Extremism counts more than 38,000 members nationwide, including 1,500 in Pennsylvania.
Keep reading The Inquirer’s investigation to see how they found listed members.
What you should know today
John Fetterman agreed to a television debate with Mehmet Oz with closed captioning. Oz agreed with three requests of his own.
A Fishtown pizza shop and part of a North Philly building both collapsed within minutes of each other.
City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas called for hearings about Philadelphia Youth Network after complaints about teen workers’ pay delays throughout the summer.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
The activists who successfully lobbied the city to reverse its decision about awarding a noncompetitive, $500,000 commission for a Harriet Tubman statue got a partial win.
The city announced it’s now an open call — changing the original decision to just give the project to Wesley Wofford, a North Carolina sculptor who brought a traveling version of his Harriet Tubman: Journey to Freedom statue to Philadelphia on a temporary basis earlier this year
But now, the city opened the theme to any historic African American figure, which wasn’t the original focus.
Reporter Valerie Russ breaks down how an homage to Tubman became broader.
What we’re...
🍴 Planning: To take advantage of Restaurant Week with this helpful guide.
🎧 Anticipating: Hundred Watt Heart’s — a.k.a. The Roots guitarist “Captain” Kirk Douglas’ — second solo album, New Unknown, is set to release this fall.
💭 Wondering: What the city can do to make it up to Philadelphia Brewing Co. after destroying its hop garden.
🎨 Sharing: A reminder to check out Latino art and galleries. It’s the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: After nearly a century, this Jersey Shore bakery is set to close.
RASPS TAWDRY
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Anne Addis, who correctly guessed Jose Garces as Tuesday’s answer.
Photo of the Day
That’s all I have for Thursday. I’ll be back at the same time tomorrow. Make the day count.