T HE F LAT H AT
Vol. 112, Iss. 12 | Tuesday, November 15, 2022
The Weekly Student Newspaper
of The College of William and Mary
Pay gaps among College faculty and staff
Pay gaps among contracted Sodexo dining employees
Annual earnings as compared to male, non-Hispanic/Latinx and white employees, respectively Women
Hispanic/Latinx
Hourly earnings as compared to male, non-Hispanic/Latinx and white employees, respectively
Black
Hispanic/Latinx
Women
Black
Multi-racial
-$2.07
-5,000
-$7,327
flathatnews.com | @theflathat
Asian/Pacific Islander
-$1.96
-5
-$8,879
-10,000
-$6.83
-$11,308
-$6.08
-$5.63
ANNA ARNSBERGER / THE FLAT HAT
Salary equity report reveals pay inequities among College employees Internal study conducted in May 2021 indicates significant discrepancies in College, Sodexo staff earnings based on race, gender, ethnicity
AIDAN WHITE // THE FLAT HAT
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. The most updated version can be found at flathatnews.com. An internal university report obtained by The Flat Hat identifies significant salary discrepancies among the College of William and Mary’s faculty, staff and contracted Sodexo dining hall workers, along the lines of gender, race and ethnicity. According to the report’s executive summary, associate professor of sociology Caroline Hanley authored the report for the Women’s Network, who Provost Peggy Agouris had asked to assess salary equity at the College. “Among W&M employees, there is evidence that women and workers with Hispanic/Latinx, Black, and Multiracial identities are paid significantly less than their peers within broad job categories, net of experience and operational/classified status,” the report’s executive summary reads. “…. We see large and significant pay gaps by race, ethnicity, and gender among Sodexo employees who work on the W&M campus, and these cannot be explained by having managerial/ supervisory job responsibilities. There is also strong evidence of a racial pay inequity: Black or African American and Multiracial Sodexo employees earn significantly less than their peers, net of detailed job category, experience, and gender.” Hanley confirmed in a written statement to The Flat Hat that she authored the report and sent it to Agouris in May 2021. The Women’s Network did not respond to a request for comment. The Report’s Findings The report estimates that on average, female faculty and staff are paid $7,327.09 less annually than male employees. On average, Asian and Pacific Islander American faculty and staff are paid $3,601.45 less annually than white faculty and staff, multiracial faculty and staff are paid $6,024.07 less annually than white faculty and staff, Black faculty and staff are paid $8,879.10 less annually than white faculty and staff, and Hispanic/Latinx faculty and staff are paid $11,308.77 less annually than non-Hispanic/Latinx employees. Faculty and staff did not include contracted Sodexo dining workers.
One section of the report breaks down the average earnings of different identity groups as a percentage of white men’s average earnings in the same job category. According to this section of the report, Black women working in non-managerial jobs at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are paid only 65.47% of what white men working in the same job category are paid. Asian and Pacific Islander American men working in executive or professional positions at VIMS are paid 64.91% of what white men in the same job category earn,
“Among W&M employees, there is evidence that women and workers with Hispanic/
Latinx, Black, and Multiracial identities are
paid significantly less than their peers within broad job categories, net of experience and operational/classified status.” ‒ The May 2021 report reads
while Asian and Pacific Islander American women are paid 57.50% of what their white male colleagues earn, according to the report. The largest pay discrepancy alleged by the report is among multiracial men working in executive or professional positions at the College’s main campus, who are paid less than half — about 45.36% — of what their white male colleagues earn. The report also compares the College and Sodexo salaries to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, which estimates that a full-time living wage for a single adult living alone in Williamsburg would be $16.33 per hour, or about $32,600 per year. According to the report’s findings, the average hourly wage for Sodexo employees at the College falls
below a living wage at $15.15 per hour. Additionally, the report identifies five job categories where some College faculty and staff earn less than a living wage: executive/ professional main campus employees, instructional main campus faculty, non-managerial main campus employees, executive/ professional VIMS employees and non-managerial VIMS employees. Administration Response Administrators did not acknowledge the May 2021 internal salary equity report when asked about pay equity studies at the College. Both Agouris and College spokesperson Suzanne Clavet say that efforts to address pay equity with the College’s University Human Resources are ongoing. “Faculty and staff are central to William & Mary’s identity, mission and value,” Agouris said in a written statement to the Flat Hat. “With that in mind, University Human Resources partners with executive leadership in on-going efforts to explore and enhance health, welfare and compensation options for faculty and staff across the enterprise.” Clavet said that the consulting firm Gallagher conducted an external review of employee salaries in 2020, but said that no studies have been conducted since then. It is unclear whether the Provost’s office shared the findings of the May 2021 report with university communications. “Gallagher, a consulting firm, conducted a general staff compensation study for William & Mary based on market value, position and duties in 2020,” Clavet said in a written statement to the Flat Hat. “No additional studies were conducted in 2021 or 2022.” The report recommends that Agouris and the administration should share the findings with College employees. “More work is necessary to communicate the results of this study within the W&M employee community,” the report’s recommendations section reads. “Existing research shows that organizations with transparent evaluation and pay determination practices have lower rates of pay inequity across racial, ethnic, and gender lines.” See EQUITY page 8
CAMPUS
Korean-American attorney David Kim shares experiences as congressional candidate
Kim discusses his queer identity, immigration law, running a grassroots campaign in talk hosted by AASI, government department PEERAWUT RUANGSAWASDI THE FLAT HAT
Saturday, Nov. 13, Democratic congressional candidate David Kim spoke at the Commonwealth Auditorium in the Sadler Center. Kim is running to represent California’s 34th district in the House of Representatives. During the one-and-a-half-hour event, which the Asian American Student Initiative organized with support from the Government Department, Kim discussed his experience as an openly queer Korean American progressive running in a district with one of the largest Korean American populations in the country. California utilizes a top-two primary system, in which candidates of all parties compete in the same primary election, with the top two candidates who recieve the most votes advancing to the general election. Kim is currently facing incumbent democratic candidate Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D) in a rematch. After growing up during the 1992 Los Angeles riots — a period of civil unrest following the acquittal of LAPD officers charged with using excessive force in the arrest of Rodney King — Kim was inspired to work to better represent his community. Many Korean American-owned businesses were damaged during the riots. As one of the few Korean American students in his community growing up, Kim said he made a point by running for student government positions. Kim also
INDEX News Opinions Variety Sports News
works as an immigration attorney and a member of the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Council, where he also served as president. “Even though I am the one that they make fun of for smelling like kimchi or garlic… You know what? Forget about that, I think we need representation,” Kim said. Kim cited his Asian American identity as a primary source of motivation. However, Kim’s view of representation extends beyond only working for others who are similar, but also involves working for every member of a community. “The bigger and greater element is this deeper awareness of what where all of us are in this world, in this place, in the society and understanding that we didn’t choose what families we were born into, what classes you were born into, what background, communities, or levels of education,” Kim said in reference to his vision for community activism. Kim first ran for the House of Representatives position during the General Election in 2020 against incumbent Gomez. Gomez outraised Kim by nearly seven times the amount in 2020. Kim noted that he does not take “special interest money” and instead runs a grassroots campaign. “So my opponent, for example, he takes more corporate PAC and special interests money than a majority of members in Congress,” Kim said. “He’s like one of the top, and that would even be like Lockheed Martin, military defense contractors, from
Inside Opinions 2 3-4 5-6 7 8
The need for competition between clubs
Adam Jutt ’25 writes about how on-campus organizations should have more competition. page 3
private prison, from big pharma, … from Pfizer.” According to campaign disclosures, Gomez, a former labor organizer, received contributions from various labor political action committees, Pfizer, the nonprofit progressive PAC ActBlue and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Lockheed Martin, a leading defense corporation, contributed $2,000 to his campaign in 2021. For the 2022 cycle, Kim received $250 from a local Los Angeles PAC, the East Area Progressive Democrats. Kim did not receive any PAC contributions in 2020. Despite Kim’s Korean American background, he did not receive an endorsement from the first Korean American Democrat elected to Congress, Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey. After Andy Kim endorsed Gomez, David Kim cited bullying and incumbency advantages as factors in the endorsement. Vice President Kamala Harris, a former senator from California, as well as the first Asian American and African American vice president, also endorsed Gomez. Kim also spoke about a conversation he had previously had after the 2020 election with Rep. Andy Kim, when he was informed about a congressional tradition where incumbent members of Congress go up to each other and request endorsements before any challenger enters the race. “Andy, in the last cycle, told me, ‘David, if you run again in 2022, let me know, and I won’t give Jimmy my endorsement.’” Kim said. “I did, I texted him, I
Inside Variety
Advocating for reproductive rights
Vox hosts annual proabortion talk with panel of six speakers. page 5
called him, but he still endorsed him.” Attendees of the event reflected on Kim’s conversation with the College community. “I thought the event went well,” Director of AASI Jeffrey Gu ’25 said. “This event was very intentionally catered towards people that are interested in coming, so everybody that was here I hope had a good time.” Gu also thanked AASI’s deputy director Sean Nguyen ’25, who moderated the Q&A session. Anshu Sharma Ph.D ’26 said he also appreciated David Kim’s willingness to come and speak, particularly on the basis of economic issues and challenges facing outsider candidates. He expressed desire to see more events similar to this which showcase the representation of people of color at the College. “To me, this is a fundamental part of what the College is about,” Sharma said. Other attendees expressed similar remarks regarding their appreciation for Kim’s visit to the College, and agreed that there should be similar events hosted in the future. “I’m really appreciative that he had the time to come down to speak with the William and Mary students,” attendee Prestin Tran ’26 said. “I think he offers really, really good insight into what congressional campaigning is like.” As of Monday, Nov. 14, 76% of the votes for California’s 34th district have been counted. The Associated Press has not called the race. Gomez is currently leading with 52.4% of the votes to Kim’s 47.6%.
Inside Sports
CAA names Crain Rookie of the Year Freshman completes season with nine goals. page 7