FAST FACTS
Name: Carla Cunningham
District: 106 (Mecklenburg)
In office since: 2013
Key Committees: Appropriations; Appropriations – Health & Human Services; Commerce; Energy & Public Utilities; Health; Local Gov’t (Land Use, Planning, & Development); Rules, Calendar, & Operations of the House; Wildlife Resources
Previous career: Hospice nurse
FEATURED BILL: EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK
The gender wage gap continues to persist, with women making just 86 percent of what men make on average in North Carolina. What’s worse, North Carolina has particularly weak equal pay protections.
That’s why Rep. Cunningham, along with her colleagues Reps. Fisher, Smith, and von Haefen, introduced the bill for Equal Pay for Equal Work this April.
The bill would ban employers from committing gender-based discrimination when it comes to salary, wages, benefits, and other compensation. It would also prohibit employers from banning the discussion of wages among employees, seeking the salary history of prospective employees, or retaliating against employees who seek redress based on provisions of this law.
Ensuring equal pay for equal work is fundamental to ensuring women can fully and fairly participate in the economy.