The gender pay gap continues to shrink at a glacial rate, despite employers launching policies and benefits that are geared towards women, such as fertility treatment and menopause support, according to Nahla Khaddage.
Corporate initiatives and employee benefits are increasingly geared towards women, from funding fertility treatments to mentoring programmes.
As the ONS report on gender pay gaps shows, gender equity strategies do not seem to be making a difference fast enough. These initiatives may be contributing to the slow narrowing of the pay gap.
The ONS report indicates that the wage disparity between women and men decreased by a half-point from April 2023 until April 2024.
Commentators have every right to be happy that numbers are going in the right directions, but we should also take a moment to reflect. The gap is closing slowly, but we need to reassess how we approach things if we want to get there sooner.
A 0.5 percent decrease in 2024 is not enough. It is true that many factors contribute to the gender pay gap and there is no magic bullet. However, we need to accelerate. With all the expertise and resources businesses have available, you can’t say that this problem is impossible.
Slow progress
McKinsey’s 10th annual women in the workplace report is one of many that have cited corporate initiatives as the solution. The message is similar to that of the UK’s ONS Report, even though it was conducted in the US. Some progress has been achieved, but not nearly enough.
McKinsey’s report suggests that businesses take the following steps, such as launching training on allyship, tracking promotion metrics and rolling out menopause assistance.
I’m not sure if these strategies are appropriate in every case, but the focus on corporate initiatives is a bit unsettling.
These initiatives are a distraction from the truth at the core of the gender gap problem: Businesses need to pay women equally to their male counterparts. They should be rewarded for the work they do, the responsibilities they assume, and the value that they add to the company. Pay should not be based on a person’s gender.
Token gestures
In recent years, it has been widely accepted that businesses should offer women greater corporate benefits to help them feel appreciated.
Employers are introducing token gestures to their workplace culture rather than confronting it head on.
Gender equity requires a commitment to leadership and a belief that women have innate value for businesses. It all starts at the most fundamental level: pay.
Some organisations are ignoring this basic truth due to the rise of corporate initiatives, which forces employees into survival mode.
Workers who don’t receive a fair salary have to worry about how they will survive from day to day. They can’t reach their full potential if they are bogged down with these worries.
These policies are just a’sticking-plaster’. They don’t get to the core of the problem.
Special Treatment
They are also expensive to implement. These benefits are expensive to implement and can even cost more than paying women the same salary as men.
In many cases, the corporate benefits are ineffective and put women at a disadvantage.
These benefits and programmes, by suggesting that women require special treatment in the workplace, perpetuate the notion that women are not suited for the environment. These programmes and benefits suggest that women need to change something about themselves in order to be successful.
These initiatives are a distraction from the truth at the core of the issue, which is that businesses must pay women the exact same amount as men.
This is not true. Numerous studies show that workplaces with a gender balance achieve better business results, retain and attract talent more easily and increase productivity.
According to the International Labor Organization, when it comes to those who are at the top, a gender-balanced board is almost 20% more likely than a non-gender balanced board to improve business results.
Women’s contribution to business is evident, and any empowerment programme that suggests they must change in some manner are misplaced.
The perception of women needs to be adjusted, not the women themselves. Ultimately, suggesting that women require special treatment undermines their self-confidence. It is a violation of their right to be present at the table.
All workers deserve a fair wage
These initiatives don’t represent best practices. They do more harm than they do good. These policies are often used by companies to hide behind, believing that they will make them exempt from any additional work required for gender equality.
Many women would rather be paid fairly so they could choose to purchase their own fertility treatments or seek menopause support.
In the end, most women want to have the ability to present themselves as they are, to be valued as individuals and not just as diversity metrics, and to be paid equally to their male counterparts. Corporate initiatives undercut all three.
These corporate initiatives, programmes, and benefits must be abandoned if we are to heal the gender gap and make sure that men and woman are on equal footing. We need to go back and pay women more.
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