Pay Equality: How Do We Close the Gap? | Salesforce Leading by Example
Last night, 60 Minutes featured a story on the gender pay gap and the efforts of Salesforce to lead by example to close this gap. This issue is important and one that every HR professional should be paying attention to, as it will affect and already is affecting, every organization in business today. If you as an HR professional are not thinking about terms like pay equality, gender parity, unconscious bias, and even #MeToo, I guarantee you, your employees are.
Rather than recap this 60 Minutes episode for you, I think it would be more beneficial for you to take 13 minutes to watch it for yourself here. When you get done, I’m challenging you to consider what this means for your organization.
Do you think there is a persistent pay gap between men and women at your company? You might be thinking like Marc Benioff, Founder and CEO of Salesforce did when he approached this issue, “It’s impossible because we have a great culture here.” But even Salesforce an organization that had already prioritized the promotion and retention of women found a pay gap, as Marc said, “It was everywhere. It was through the whole company, at every division, every department, every geography.”
So, after you watch the video if you are thinking, "what now?" here are just a few resources to get you started addressing this issue in your organization:
Take a look at the Google ReWork Guide to Unbiasing. This guide introduces the topic of unconscious bias, shares research on the topic, and offers training tools for leading an unconscious bias training program in your organization.
Read over the Paradigm for Parity website and think about the 5-point Action Plan they recommend to accelerate the pace of achieving gender parity in your organization.
Explore the Institute for Women's Policy Research website and the specific research they have shared on pay equity discrimination.
Consider the Lean In Org Equal Pay Counts page to find solutions for how your organization can take steps towards pay equality. #20percentcounts
Let’s not let this issue take 100 years to resolve. As Benioff said, “There’s never been an easier time to make this change. CEOs with one button on one computer can pay every man and every woman equally. We have the data. We know what everyone makes. There’s no excuse. Everybody can easily do this now.”
So, let’s do it!
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Bethany J. Adams, MA, SHRM-SCP is an Assistant Director in the Graduate HRD Program at Villanova University. Learn more about her here!
