Gender Pay - Points To Get Involved
Douglas Williams
Adobe Workfront and Workfront Fusion Guy optimizing client work environments the past 14 years.
From the thinking chair…I continued to look at the gender pay gap in the following week.
It was interesting to see so much progress over the last several decades. And yet, the gap has persisted based on the data of statistics and individual stories. One women I spoke with was quite resentful to being paid less, her perception as the company she works for does not share payroll information across employees. Another woman I talked with mentioned that she was denied a promotion because she was not a man and that only men shall become partners. And another woman I talked with spoke of the unequal treatment leading to her required more aggressive behavior to work more to achieve par with men.
So where would one go from here? Here are some points to ponder and perhaps get involved.
1. Remedy the bias coming from “The Motherhood Penalty” and “Fatherhood Bonus” when moms take time out for child rearing while dads keep career building.
2. Improve general women’s capabilities for negotiating skills, as men tend to be more aggressive risk takers within this area.
3. Educate employers on their obligations under the existing EEOC laws; gender related discrimination comes in many forms.
4. Convince employers to eliminate wage secrecy practices so that all people can see the unfairness when it exists across gender, race, religion, ethnicity, and health.
5. Resolve the “always pending” congressional effort to level the playing field - the Paycheck Fairness Act has been in congressional hands for 20 years already.
Ponder the data...