One of the things we don’t talk about as much as we should is the opportunities gap. The pay equity gap exists. Part of why it exists has to do with the fact that women don’t have the same access to opportunities as men.
Women are underrepresented in higher paying leadership roles. And promotion gaps are also a part of the problem.
So, when I hear that an employer has a plan for how they find, and fix pay equity gaps I am thrilled. But then I ask about how they are going to find and fix the opportunity gap that exists, I often get asked, “What do you mean?”
Recent research (“Potential” and the Gender Promotion Gap by Bensen, Li, and Shue), indicates that women, on average, receive higher performance ratings than men but are awarded lower potential ratings.
This leads to women being 13% less likely to get promoted than their male colleagues. This disparity in promotion rates contributes to women staying lower level and lower paying jobs.
As HR leaders, we need to address the root causes of pay equity gaps by determining what the biases are within policies and practices related to promotion, potential, and performance.
No one should be receiving more favorable treatment based on gender, race, ethnicity, age, etc. related to pay, promotion opportunities, as well as the assessment of their potential and performance.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), it could take 134 years, or five generations, to close the global gender gap.
Remember, most employees have their pay, performance, and potential reviewed annually. That means that employers have three times a year they can move toward equity. (Number of employees x 3 = Number of opportunities to move toward equity)
Be intentional and move the needle toward equity every chance you get.
Don’t ignore the pay and workplace opportunity inequities that exist because the conversations are uncomfortable. Five generations is too long to wait for this to be fixed.
#payequity #paytransparency #compensation #hr #humanresources #fairpay #genderpaygap #paygap #opportunitygap