Why Pay Equity is Important to Diversity, Being Included and BelongingPosted by Johansen Timmons on April 26th, 2021 We are now existing with covid-19 for almost an entire year. Mandatory lockdowns are no longer a unique occurrence, and the assumptions we may have had about how the global pandemic would affect females have been resoundingly kicked to the gutter. When we were first told to work remotely, my initial thought was one of hope. If then both adults, and obviously then I am referring to households with two employed caregivers, weren’t leaving, then surely this will reorient the house chores plus childcare tasks? Which we would see a change as then each obtained those chores upon themselves equally. Well I was wrong. The covid-19 era far from becoming a great equalizer has forced mothers not merely out of the workplace but is also affecting them more significantly. As noted by the World Economic Forum’s report Women in the Workplace 2020, at year-end of 2020, tens of millions of females were considering retiring from the workplace for good. Elsewhere, a UK publication observed that mothers were 1.5 times more likely than men to have either lost their employment or resign since the pandemic began. Minorities and women of color are even more negatively affected. The report stated that “associated with females in the workforce, Latinas are more likely to be concerned about firings and furloughs. Additionally LGBTQ+ women are nearly 200% as likely as workers overall to cite mental health as one of their largest issues during Covid-19.” One of the primary reasons for the incredible job loss numbers? McKinsey’s study observed that women’s jobs are 180% more at risk to the pandemic than men’s. One cause for this is that many women are working in industries gutted by the pandemic. The hospitality industry employs more women than men. It is not just in the economic arena that females are suffering. Studies from the UN reveals an increase in calls to domestic violence phone banks around the planet. Why pay equality is more critical than ever Yet, there is another issue at play here. Many times the primary reason the woman is the one to give up her job is purely economic. Who earns more earnings? When both parties are employed, it is common sense for the person with the higher earnings to stay in their job and the other person to resign. There is where the problem begins since, as we all are aware, the amount of pay inequality is overwhelming. According to the most current data, in 2020, women earn merely --content--.81 for each dollar a man made. The managed gender pay gap, that ponders metrics like job title, length of experience, industry, and location, uncovered that women make --content--.98 for every a man earns. While within this controlled data, the biggest gap is between the earnings of African American women and white men. As noted in the publication, African American women make --content--.97 for each dollar a Caucasian man with equal qualifications is paid. At initial glance, this appears to imply that the difference in earning ability is generally low when you compare like with like. But, it’s more nuanced than that, and that is why it needs our attention. While men and women at the equal experience may receive similar pay, the problem is that there is empirical evidence that men get advanced at a faster pace than women. The higher up the ladder the higher the salary, and there lies the challenge. That is why it’s not simply the salary that we should think about – by determining presumptive pay raises given across a 40-year career, women stand to lose 0,000 on average over a lifetime. Research shows that when women have children it adversely impacts their earning opportunity. The so-called “Motherhood Penalty” leads to employed mothers being seen as less committed to their employer and requiring a more accommodating schedule. Statistics reveal that the pay gap is significantly higher for women with children. How payroll analytics can raise awareness about gaps in your organization Whilst numerous factors add to pay inequities, one of the ways to control it is by isolating where the gaps are and then trying to bridge the void. Several employers are unaware that there exists is a difference. A part of the issue is lacking the data, a lack of knowledge about current pay scales. In a 2020 publication, we see that more than half (56%) of those studied said their organizations don’t have a formal process to fight pay equity, while 70% do not use payroll structures to manage pay. To battle this information disparity, and as part of their offering for customers who are located in the UK, Immedis developed a standard report that plainly shows the way a company pays its workers based on gender and age. From analyzing the issue, companies can make educated decisions about how to change and get pay parity. In addition to the country by country analysis, Immedis also provide global data for Gross and Net payroll. Why it is important to track data Apart from the fact that it’s a legal requirement in the UK, there’s also the inherent bias we have for tangible evidence. In short, people demand proof. Without data and robust visualizations, it is easy to take for granted that everything is fine and that you are doing right by your workers. With payroll equity , organizations can gain a better knowledge of how they are paying their employees and if there exists any glaring differences, that can be addressed.Like it? Share it! More by this author |