Over 50 U.S. business giants committed to narrowing gender pay gap

Another 29 world famous U.S. technology and business giants, including Apple, Facebook, Coca-Cola, Hilton and Visa, have signed an equal pay pledge launched by President Barack Obama two months ago, the White House announced on Friday, the U.S. Women's Equality Day.

"These 29 newly-committed employers bring the total number to more than 50 companies and organizations that collectively employ millions of Americans," said the White House in a written statement.

"The typical woman working full-time all year in the United States only earns 79 percent of what a typical man working full-time all year earns," the statement noted.

"While the gap has narrowed slightly over the past few years, there is much more work to be done to ensure fair pay for all," it said.

By signing the White House equal pay pledge, which was launched at the first-ever U.S. Women Summit in June, the so-called "critical role businesses" are committed to taking enterprise-wide steps to reducing the pay gap, such as conducting an annual gender pay analysis, reducing unconscious bias and structural barriers in hiring and promotion and so on.

"Equal work deserves equal pay," said Apple when signing the pledge, claiming its women employees in America already earn one dollar for every dollar male employees earn.

"We're now analyzing the salaries, bonuses, and annual stock grants of all our employees worldwide. If a gap exists, we'll address it. And we'll continue our work to make sure we maintain pay equity," said Apple in a statement.

"They are part of our deep commitment to creating an equitable workplace that includes and supports employees of every background and identity. Our products are used around the globe by millions of people from all cultures and backgrounds, and our team needs to reflect the world we're building for," said the Dropbox, the cloud storage company with 500 million users.

"Facebook is a longtime supporter of equal pay...We complete thorough statistical analyses to compare the compensation of men and women performing similar work. As such, we are proud to share that at Facebook, men and women earn the same," announced the social media giant.

"When women are fully engaged in our workforce and communities, society at large benefits from the great ideas and innovation that flourishes," said Microsoft, calling pay equality among men and women "a critical component of social progress."

"Our commitment to equal pay gives us the opportunity to attract and hire from a broader talent pool of the best employees, managers and leaders-while gaining important insights into consumers' needs", said the leading computer software company.

The pledge was also newly signed by General Motors, IBM, IKEA US, Intel, LinkedIn, MailChimp, Nike, Patagonia and a number of other shining American business leaders.

The U.S. Women's Equality Day is to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting American women the right to vote. Endit