This report presents information from 11 hearings in five California cities on pay inequities affecting many working women. It begins with a general discussion of the wage gap as a persistent fact of life. Causes of differences in male/female pay are considered, including gender segregation in jobs, labor market conditions, employee characteristics, content of work, union membership, and prevailing wage rates. The next section offers a brief history of the concept of equal pay for work of comparable value. Case histories are provided, and the four essential elements of the comparable worth statute passed by the California State Legislature are described. Critical questions related to the concept of comparable worth are then addressed, including job evaluation, costs, supply and demand as a determinant of wages, and collective bargaining. A section on job evaluation describes the four most common types now practiced and provides descriptions of job evaluation processes in three actual work settings. A final section looks ahead and considers social implications of comparable worth and the role trade unions can play. Appendixes include ordering information for hearing transcripts, a listing of individuals and organizations submitting testimony, texts of major current laws, and the legal context for comparable worth. (YLB)