Pax World Takes Action To Close Gender Pay Gap At U.S. Companies

PORTSMOUTH, N.H., April 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite progress, recent reports indicate that the average woman in the U.S. still makes just 79 cents for every dollar a man earns and the pay gap is not projected to close for decades.¹ That's why Pax World Management LLC, investment adviser to Pax World Funds and a leader in investing in women, is taking steps to press U.S. companies to close the stubborn wage gap.

"When it comes to closing the gender pay gap, the current rate of progress is unacceptable.  It's time to pick up the pace," said Julie Gorte, SVP for Sustainable Investing, Pax World. "Our work on equal pay uses the tools we have as investors to help shift the conversation into higher gear."

In the past year, Pax World engaged in numerous shareholder advocacy initiatives aimed at closing the pay gap, including:

• Pax World was the lead filer of a shareholder proposal at Apple, and co-filed shareholder proposals at eBay and Amazon, requesting disclosure of the results of pay equity assessments. As a result, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the results of the company's gender pay assessment at Apple's Annual Meeting in February, and stated that the company is committed to closing the pay gap. Amazon also recently made its gender pay data public, revealing U.S. female employees' compensation in 2015 was 99.9% of male employees' in equivalent jobs.
• In February, Pax Ellevate Management, a joint venture of Pax World and Ellevate Asset Management, petitioned the SEC urging the agency to require public companies to disclose gender pay ratios on an annual basis.
• Pax World has also written to 31 technology companies held across its mutual funds, asking for information about how the companies are addressing pay equity and that they publicly disclose the results of a company pay analysis.
• Following President Obama's announcement of new EEO-1 pay equity reporting requirements, Pax World submitted a statement to the EEOC in support of the proposed rule.
• Pax World and Sonen Capital contacted S&P 100 companies asking them to commit to collecting and calculating gender pay ratio data, to make that information public, and to support the proposed EEOC rule.

Pax World has made its own gender pay ratio data publicly available since 2010, through its annual Impact Report.

"We're committed to the fight for pay equality because closing the pay gap benefits everyone – and continued discrimination hurts everyone," said Heather Smith, Lead Sustainability Research Analyst, Pax World. "We believe companies that pay men and women equally for equal work are able to attain greater diversity throughout their organizations and will be better positioned to succeed in the future."

About Pax World Management LLC

Pax World Management LLC, investment adviser to Pax World Funds, is a pioneer in the field of sustainable investing.  Pax World integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) research into its investment process to better manage risk and deliver competitive long-term investment performance. For over 45 years, Pax World has made it possible for investors to align their investments with their values and have a positive social and environmental impact. Today, its platform of sustainable investing solutions includes a family of mutual funds, as well as separately managed accounts. 

You should consider a fund's investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. For this and other information, call 800.767.1729 or visit www.paxworld.com for a fund prospectus and read it carefully before investing.

As of 3/31/16, eBay was 0.1% of the Pax Balanced Fund and 0.7% of the Pax Growth Fund. Apple was 2.3% of the Pax Balanced Fund and 5.1% of the Pax Growth Fund. Amazon was 0.7% of the Pax Balanced Fund and 2.0% of the Pax Growth Fund. Holdings are subject to change.

Pax World Funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc. Member FINRA.

ALPS Distributors, Inc. is not affiliated with Pax World Management LLC.

PAX006070 (4/17)

¹ American Association of University Women, "The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap," Spring 2016, http://www.aauw.org/files/2016/02/SimpleTruth_Spring2016.pdf  

SOURCE Pax World Management LLC

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