This year, Equal Pay Day in the UK, falls on April 11th and serves as a reminder that there is still a long way to go before we reach ‘true’ gender pay equality.
This pay gap, whilst historical, is in general being addressed by organisations, rather than just stating that more men may be in more senior roles and therefore warrant higher salaries, people are digging deeper, trying to understand the roles in which people fulfil, barriers to promotion, and the pay differences that exist. Not only are some companies trying to recruit more women and ethnic minorities, but some are also trying to understand their bias whether conscious or unconscious.
This is important because if bias is included in recruitment process, it can block people from even being selected for interview. Where this behavior can exist, it is fair to assume that the company itself may be less likely to be a fair representation of inclusion. To illustrate the differences in pay for example, women in Europe receive approximately 54 cents per every euro received by a man. The discrepancy is even greater for women from ethnic minorities.
Unconscious bias is believed to be a major causes of unequal pay (Forbes). It is described as an invisible yet persistent force in the workplace that can limit opportunities such as promotion and career advancement. For those employees impacted by such restrictions, this would have a direct and negative impact in allowing them reaching their full potential. Unconscious bias also creates an environment where meritocracy, fairness, and equality are not the norm. In order to close the gender and minority pay gap, we must all become aware of our unconscious biases
Different organisations will have different ways to address their imbalance. For example an orchestra held blind auditions to recruit more women and 33% more joined, arguable not necessarily because more women applied but because positions were offered solely based on skill being the sound of the music they produced (Forbes). This fabulous example really highlights recruitment bias, as obviously you’d expect musicians to be judged solely on their skill, yet somehow bias had been getting in the way!
With face to face interviews, one way to identify and address this bias in recruitment would be to start tackling it before interview, when bias may already be preventing some candidates from being selected at the very start. Removing bias identifying data from those recruiting; names, ages and elements of educational history from CV’s before handing to the team to shortlist who they would like to interview would help level candidates playing field. In addition to bias training which is becoming ever popular, by choosing candidates ‘anonymously’, HR can analyse their ‘average’ applicant and ‘interviewees ‘and compare that to the average hired applicant and the company’s existing demographics.
This method could be very beneficial in identifying and helping remove unconscious bias, as one of the best ways to change deep rooted behaviours is to address them. By interviewing the right skilled applicant, interviewers use the same questions to help compare candidates fairly. Ensuring that employers are paid at their level of experience, and within defined pay-scale bands can also help prevent nepotism or bias, avoiding the awkward moments when someone discovers a peer is paid more.
HR policies are key to ensuring pay equality and the department must be respected. Removing names from CV’s, either manually, or via HR software, can help the right candidates be selected for interview without assumed unconscious bias from applicant’s names being a factor. Ensuring pay alignment for staff at the same level is also important. Some organisations are analysing their staff pay and making alignments, rather than ignoring the issue. Which would you rather work for? Staff do talk and Glassdoor reviews allow employees past and present to bare all.
Know more on the topic
These suggestions can help address inequality by ensuring the right people get interviewed and paid fairly. Companies should also be looking internally at those they already have in the business by encouraging open dialogue and policies that ensure pay equality. This is an obvious policy as more companies are being transparent with pay.
How long will experienced existing staff stay when the same job in their company is advertised at a higher rate? Instead, that rate may be seen as an industry norm, and then the question is whether they would ask for a raise or go for a job interview elsewhere, believing that if their company cared for them they would not be in this position?
Considering this, it is easy to understand how the increased respect for different perspectives is essential if we are to create a fair and equitable workplace. It is also a necessary step to catch up to modern society when the question is less on gender differences but the ability to be gender fluid, without having to be declared one or the other at all.
So, on this Equal Pay Day, let us commit to making sure that everyone has access to the same opportunities and wages. By working together, we can create a more equitable future for all
To know more on how you can address the pay gap in your organisation get in touch with us, and let us help you out.