How Employers Can Leverage Technology To Create Equal Pay

There is still much progress to be made in the fight for pay equity

November 20, 2019, is Latina Equal Pay Day. In 2019, Latinas are still among the most negatively affected by the pay gap, and progress is going backward. In 2017, Latinas earned 54 cents for every dollar the average white, non-Hispanic man-made, and in 2018 and 2019, they earned just 53 cents. In light of this day, I have put forth a Q&A on how employers can leverage technology to end cycles of discrimination and deliver fair compensation to all. 

The issues of pay inequity are often rooted in unconscious bias, which is why we see specific groups of people, like Latinas, most adversely affected time after time. Compensation technology can be used to improve pay equity by removing unconscious bias from employee compensation plans and replacing it with data-driven decisions. For example, the automation and analytics found in total compensation solutions can omit factors that are often rooted in unconscious bias like gender, race, age, and more. By removing these factors, managers can make fair compensation decisions based on an employee’s qualifications and experience, while omitting the factors that often contribute to pay inequity. 

Leaders of businesses have a responsibility to take action to ensure all of their employees are compensated fairly. Unfortunately, we have found that more than half of employees (51%) do not know or do not believe their employers or managers take closing the gender pay gap seriously. What does this tell us? It is time for businesses to get serious about taking action—and communicating that action— to close pay gaps. This begins with setting the tone from the top down. My advice to employers is to speak up, step up, and take the steps necessary to help solve this systemic issue. 
 

Speak up. As leaders of an organization, executives bear the responsibility of being the voice of change. Those who hold executive-level positions must be prepared to speak up and show their employees, their industries, and the world that they are committed to equal pay and fair representation. The first step towards progress in pay equity is making a clear, vocal commitment to it both internally and externally. 

Step up. If companies are going to talk the talk, they must be prepared to walk the walk. To start, C-Suites should evaluate if those in the room have fairly earned their places there and that there is also equal representation. There is no better way for organizations to demonstrate their commitment toward equal pay and fair representation than by leveling the playing field at all levels, from the recruiting stage to the offer process to promoting employees based strictly on merit. 

Leaders can take their efforts a step further by reporting on pay gap figures. While this might seem intimidating, it will foster a culture of transparency and trust within the organization while attracting the 63% of workers who say they would be more willing to work at a company that discloses its gender pay gap figure each year. 

Take the steps. Businesses need to invest in what matters: their people. To do this, they should look at investing in total compensation solutions that expose where pay gap issues persist and provide solutions to eradicate them. If businesses do not make pay equity a priority, they risk losing talented employees to businesses that do. 

 

My first piece of advice for employees looking to equalize pay in their line of work is to be open about compensation within their circle of coworkers and friends, not just with salary but with the full scope of total rewards. With that comes the importance for employees to see and understand all the ways they are being compensated. This candor will demonstrate to employers that their workforce will find transparency if it is not directly given to them, and it’s part of a growing trend of employees who say they would share their salaries with their colleagues. My second piece of advice is to push management for clear, measurable goals and insight into their progress. In doing this, they are applying pressure on management to be clear and transparent about how their work translates to their worth. 

Days like Latina Equal Pay Day are important reminders that there is still much progress to be made in the fight for pay equity. Latina Equal Pay Day brings awareness to the fact that the typical Latina woman must work until November 2019 to earn what the typical white man earned at the end of December 2018. While most of us have an understanding that pay gaps persist, we often forget that specific groups of people are more negatively affected than others. In order to enact change, business leaders must be aware of those who bear the most egregious burden in regards to pay equity.