Men are in the dark about pay equality

The gender pay gap has been a persistent challenge for women in the workplace — so is getting men to recognize it.

While 74% of women do not think they make the same salary as their male counterparts, 73% of men believe that both genders are paid equally, according to a study by job searching platform Monster. Currently, white women make 81 cents for every dollar a man makes, regardless of experience, industry or job level, according to Payscale, a compensation data platform.

Since 2015, the pay gap has closed just $0.07, Payscale data found. Over the course of their careers, women will make $900,000 less than their male counterparts, hobbling their ability to succeed professionally and financially long-term.

This startling disparity points to a lack of transparency about pay from the top down, says Claire Barnes, Monster’s chief human capital officer. If employers don’t have a clear strategy for addressing pay discrepancies, there could be long-term consequences.

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“There's clearly a gender divide when it comes to perception of equal pay,” Barnes says. “We're not transparent enough about it. If we’re not talking about it and we don’t have a philosophy on pay equity, there’s a risk that this gender divide happens.”

Women-dominated sectors like hospitality and administration are often lower paying than male-domainated fields like science and technology. While there have been significant strides to close the gap and provide women with more opportunities, COVID has obliterated much of that progress. Since last March, more than two million women have left the workforce, putting their career prospects in jeopardy.

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“We have made strides forward with gender equality, but we're really at risk with the pandemic of stepping back significantly,” Barnes says. “There needs to be a conversation that's taking place and a commitment from the senior level of your organization.”

Employees should be encouraged to do research on their own about the value they bring to an organization, Barnes says. Utilizing sites and tools that help employees compare their salaries and know the worth of their role will help them be prepared when discussing these issues with HR.

Ultimately, employers are responsible for starting and driving the conversation around pay parity in their organization. While it may be uncomfortable, transparency will benefit all employees.

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“The policies and processes that you have in place should showcase this is what we stand for, and this is what we believe in as an organization,” Barnes says. “The reality is it's not easy to get there overnight.”

Employers including Accenture, Cisco, Deloitte, Starbucks and others have pledged to disclose their pay data in an effort to close the wage gap. Adobe recently became the first tech company to disclose worldwide median pay based on gender. They reported that female workers make 99% as much as men and committed to investigate their policies around promotions.

“It's so important to set real performance indicators and make a commitment to it,” Barnes says. “It could be around training all employees about gender equity and gender bias, it could be around setting targets related to improving the diversity of the workforce. There needs to be a conversation taking place and a commitment at a senior level.”

Additionally, employers need to have a clear strategy for addressing gender diversity and pay parity if they want to attract and retain female talent. The Monster survey found that 58% of women would turn down a position at a company that does not include female leaders.

“When you think about what you’re sharing with potential employees, and how you’re demonstrating who you have in leadership roles, you need to understand how that makes you attractive to female candidates,” Barnes says. “Employers and employees need to do the best job possible.”