
Pay Equity: Berna Artis and Owen Schochet
From Small Talk: Big Ideas About Little Learners by NAEYC
May 20, 2026 · 36 min · Season 1 · Episode 3
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of the Pay Equity Fund on early childhood educators' salaries in Washington, DC, and its implications for similar efforts nationwide.
It seemed fair to pay early childhood educators the same as K-12 teachers with similar education and experience. Taxpayers and policymakers in Washington, DC, agreed, setting up the Pay Equity Fund. The move increased ECE salaries by $15,000 per year, stabilizing the workforce and opening more childcare slots for families. NAEYC’s Daniel Hains talks with DCAEYC Executive Director Berna Artis and Mathematica Senior Researcher Owen Schochet about what’s working, what’s threatened, and what DC’s experiment signals about the fate of similar pay equity efforts around the country.
People in this episode
Host: Daniel Hains
Guests: Berna Artis, Owen Schochet
Topics covered
- pay equity
- early childhood education
- workforce stability
- childcare
- education policy
Keywords
- pay equity
- early childhood educators
- salaries
- childcare slots
- education policy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NAEYC, DCAEYC
Places: Washington, DC
More episodes of Small Talk: Big Ideas About Little Learners
- The Power of Play: Kathy Hirsh-Pasek · April 15, 2026 · 38 min
- Leading for Change: Rhian Evans Allvin and Mark Ginsberg · March 18, 2026 · 28 min
- Season Trailer · February 9, 2026 · 2 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Small Talk: Big Ideas About Little Learners podcast page.