It’s a tale as old as time itself, yet here we still are. Many women still find themselves in situations where they’re doing work of equal or comparable value to a man, and getting paid less.
Sigh.
Equal Pay Day was back on the 29th of August and represents the extra 60 days per year that Australian women must work to earn the same average annual salary as men.
It’s not fair. Feelings of injustice run deep and create widespread ripple effects. Yet like many women before us, around us and who come after us, we will use this to inspire and create change. Any change must start from a place of curiosity and openness.
Common reasons for the disparity in pay.
Most employers don’t wake up one day with the intent to discriminate. Often, decisions are made in a perfect storm involving a lack of awareness, knowledge and conscious effort.
On a practical level, many companies take a “set and forget” approach to salaries. Individual salaries are discussed when creating, replacing or promoting into a role, and the if they have one, during an annual salary review. The common missed link is taking that one step further and considering collective salary information at those points.
A few common scenarios contributing to any disparity include:
- You may have communicated salary expectations that were below that of what your employer expected to pay. Rather than offering you the role at their base rate, they accepted the figure you mentioned, thinking you’re getting what you think is fair and they’re getting a “bargain”.
- Your starting salary and typical 1.5-5 per cent annual CPI increase has not kept up with the market. The person who is paid more than you may have entered the company after you, when the market was significantly hotter, and internal processes have not kick-started a review of other roles.
Does this make it ok? Absolutely not! But it does build some context. So, what can we do about it?
What employers can do
Showing how you pay fairly directly impacts your ability to attract and retain great people. It drives motivation, improves productivity, and benefits the bottom line. Lead the way in this space by:
- Creating a fair and structured compensation process. Clearly define job roles, salary bands and rationale. Pay at the minimum of these bands even if expectations sit below them
- Completing an annual, companywide salary benchmarking analysis, using quality industry-specific compensation data. Identify gaps and create a fair yet sustainable plan to close them
- Empowering your people with financial literacy. Create a safe environment for trusted conversations to take place. How you respond to a raised issue of pay equity is telling. Take it seriously and make meaningful change. Take the question of money off the table so that everyone feels valued.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t DIY this. There’s a lot more to it, so get in a professional.
What women can do
You don’t get what you don’t ask for. It can feel daunting, but I encourage you to speak up to your manager. Set yourself up for success with these steps:
- Do your due diligence. Job title alone is not a reliable indicator of salary, so try not to fixate on the figure associated with a job title alone. Identify the similarities and differences between what you and your counterpart do. Take experience, responsibility, and performance into consideration
- Clearly identify the figure that you want. Recruitment agencies such as Robert Half release free salary guides that you can use as supporting evidence. No single tool or data set is 100 per cent conclusive, so leverage information from sites such as Glassdoor to build a more robust case
- Open up a calm, considered and curious conversation. Consider your timing, take a factual approach to the conversation and ask your manager for their support. They have a lot of may have more sway than you first realise, and can back your request up.
Money is emotional. Pay inequity is emotional. And yet any conversation dominated by combative emotion will be unlikely to succeed. Place yourself in a position of power by detaching from your emotions as you sit down to that conversation. Yes, taking the high road is not easy but it does offer better views.
Every situation is nuanced. There is so much grey that will influence an appropriate course of action. Please note that I share these high-level thoughts, not as a blanket solution but to inspire reflection and action.