42% Staff Say Employers Not Dedicated to Closing Pay Gaps

Around 42% of staff don’t think their employer is dedicated to closing pay gaps, according to a new study.

The report by Salary.com and HR.com also found that HR and employees are not on the same page when it comes to pay equity. Only half of surveyed employees (53%) say they are paid equitably or believe their peers are; while a larger proportion of HR professionals (66%) believe their peers are paid equitably. HR professionals and employees are more aligned when it comes to how leadership prioritises equitable pay; only 17% and 18%, respectively, say it is a top priority among the executives in their organisation. 

Entitled 2021 Viewpoint: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, the report provides insights on views of HR executives and those of employees to help understand the state of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. 

“Pay equity is a fundamental element of the employer-employee relationship; yet 42% of employees say their employer is not dedicated to closing pay gaps,” stated Lenna Turner, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and a Compensation Consultant at Salary.com. “At Salary.com, we define pay equity as internally equitable, externally competitive, and transparently communicated. While employers are making progress, a lack of transparent communication could be leading to this employee skepticism when it comes to pay equity.”

ADDRESSING PAY EQUALITY

HR respondents (57%) suggest they are more likely to report pay equity issues, which is far more than employees (37%). This may be because HR has more access to the training and the workforce data necessary to uncover discrepancies in pay. Further, while HR professionals report pay equity issues more often; employees are more likely to suffer consequences when reporting these issues (44% versus 17%).

Fewer than one-quarter of HR professionals say their organisation has a formal budget allocated to closing pay gaps. This lack of budget could be the reason why just 33% of HR professionals agree that their organisation has the proper tools to detect internal pay gaps.

EQUITY CRITICAL FOR BUSINESS GROWTH

HR professionals who say their organisation’s pay equity tools successfully detect internal pay gaps and inequity are more likely to:

• Say they themselves and their peers are paid equitably. 
• Have pay equity among different ethnicities/races.
• Make equitable pay a top priority among executives. 
• Have a formal budget allocated to closing pay gaps. 
• Have employees speak up if they witness or experience workplace discrimination. 
• Say their organisation celebrates diversity.
• Have DE&I initiatives that are adequately staffed, funded and measured.

“In the wake of the pandemic, it’s even more critical that management and their employees see eye to eye when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion. Employees value these issues immensely; but are not seeing their companies do enough work in this area,” stated Debbie McGrath, Chief Instigator and CEO of HR.com. “Employers have to understand that equity is critical for business growth!”

Click here to download the report.

While the wage gap is narrowing, unequal pay and discrimination persist for underrepresented talent in tech, according to a recent study.