Wage Gap Adjustments Don’t
Address the Root Cause of Inequality
ORGANIZATIONS NEED A MORE INTEGRATED APPROACH
Oprah Winfrey. Meryl Streep. Charlize Theron. These
are just a few of many prominent women trying to raise
awareness of the gender-pay gap in society. And initia-tives
like HeForShe have created a platform for men,
as well as women, to speak on issues including the pay gap on a
global platform.
Although it is undeniable that strides have been made in closing
the gap, a recent article in The Guardian suggests it will take 217
years for disparities in the pay and employment opportunities of
men and women to end. This is significantly longer than the 170
years that researchers previously calculated.
So why have we, as a society, been unable to crack this prob-lem
when “equal pay for equal work” legislation has been in place
in Canada for almost 50 years? Could it be that we’re focusing on
the wrong things?
Recent research by Great Place to Work® (GPTW) suggests
that while transparent tracking and wage adjustments are neces-sary
to close the gap, organizations can’t stop there. What’s needed
is a more integrated approach to creating a level playing field for
all employees, regardless of job role or personal characteristics –
in other words, a commitment to creating a great place to work
for all.
REACHING FULL POTENTIAL MORE IMPORTANT
THAN WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Recognizing that women are still primary caregivers at home,
many organizations now offer family-friendly benefits such
as flex time, family care days and maternity top-ups. There is
no doubt these programs help women with caregiving respon-sibilities
bring their best to work. However, GPTW’s most
recent research shows that for female job candidates, working
for an organization that helps them maximize their potential
is more important than simply offering parental benefits or
work-life balance.
When women feel they make a difference at their organizations,
they are 27 times more likely to say they are employed at a great
place to work and six times more likely to stay with their compa-nies
for a long time.
WAGE ADJUSTMENTS JUST A START
While everyone agrees that the current wage gap of 10 to 20
per cent in Canada needs to be addressed with wage adjustments,
an organizational focus on re-adjusting wages doesn’t address the
root cause of unjust differences in pay between men and women.
To prevent the gender pay gap from widening, organizations need
By Alison Grenier
equality
SFIO CRACHO / Shutterstock.com
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