Women still earn $0.82 for every dollar a man makes in the U.S. — a gap of 18 cents that only widens for women of color.
HR and workforce management solutions company UKG hopes its Close the Gap Initiative can do something to change that. The tech company will be contributing $0.18 for each of the 15 million people who are paid using a UKG system, for a total of $3 million, to nonprofits, research and educational resources that work to bring awareness and change to pay inequity in America.
“Pay equity is not a new issue unique to this moment in time; it’s always been important,” says Brian Reaves, chief belonging, diversity and equity officer at UKG. “The reality is that women, predominantly Black and Brown women, continue to be paid less than their male and white female counterparts.”
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The Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that Black women earned only 63 cents for every white man’s dollar, while Latinas on average made 55 cents, according to the National Women’s Law Center. In response, UKG is specifically investing in nonprofits that create better access to education and career opportunities for women of color, such as Grantmakers for Girls of Color, Lean In, Reboot Representation and 9to5.
“I firmly believe that we live in a world where talent is equitably distributed but opportunity is not,” says Reaves. “Bias at the conscious and unconscious levels impacts workplace decisions, particularly for intersectional groups across race, gender, sexuality, ability and other factors.”
Reaves also intends for the initiative to help educate employers on where these gaps exist and what can be done. UKG is sponsoring research by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services to further delve into the pay gaps between men and women and what employers are doing nationwide to address pay equity. In addition, UKG is working to bring companies resources on best practices in HR, compensation planning, recruiting and hiring.
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“If organizations don’t treat people equitably across the entire HR life cycle, including compensation, they are limiting their access to talent and laying the groundwork for major equity, DE&I, and corporate reputation issues down the line,” Reaves says. “Most of the time, pay is the ultimate driving factor that allows people to meet their needs and wants.”
UKG invites people to join their Close the Gap Pledge, offering participants priority access to research, educational resources and tools to make pay equity a reality. As employers face a war for talent going into 2022, competitive and equitable compensation will be crucial to recruitment and retention.
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“At UKG, we say 'Our Purpose is People,' and this mantra is fundamental to the ways in which we value our people,” says Reaves. “So how can organizations reinstill the feeling of value? It starts with paying people what they deserve.”
