Equal pay: Career Choice Not The Root of the Issue, says Hay Group

The Report from the Women in Work Commission, Shaping A Fairer Future, this week called for action to increase women’s employment levels and dismantle barriers deterring them entering traditional male jobs.

Jane Phillipson, reward expert at global management consultancy Hay Group, believes that the core of the problem lies not just in career choices, but in management failures to evaluate and reward jobs and performance according to worth.

ìThereís a concern that too much emphasis might be placed on social engineering to influence womenís career choices says Jane. ìThe reasons behind these choices are many, complex and often logical enough.

ìEncouraging women into traditionally male industries such as IT and engineering is to be applauded, but will not overcome pay imbalances if women continue to be underpaid compared to their male counterparts.î

Hay Group sees the causes of male/female pay imbalances in:

a continuing lack of fair, objective pay systems in some organisations

management failure to operate pay systems effectively

residual examples of cultural norms distorting the perceived relative worth of typically ëmaleí and ëfemaleí jobs, and thus men and womenís pay in the same or equivalent roles.

Janeís view is that even where fair pay systems are in place, managers may attribute different salaries to men and women within the same pay bands, and that factors such as traditional views of performance, and of what men and women should earn, can play a part in this.

Equally, traditionally ëfemaleí roles have not always been objectively evaluated according to their value, complexity and the skill levels required to do the job.

This is where the so-called ’Market Forces’ defence to paying men and women differently can come unstuck. Even with identical jobs, men tend to be appointed on higher salaries than women which will perpetuate inequality.

ìWe need to carefully evaluate the worth we place on so-called ëmenísí and ëwomenísí work, as well as ensuring that jobs and careers are open for all to pursue,î says Jane.

ìPay systems, and the way managers use them, must fairly reflect an individualís job, responsibilities, skills and performance, irrespective of gender.î

According to Hay Group, equal pay depends not on career choice, but on:

a shift in perceptions of what typically male and female jobs are worth

objective, analytical evaluation to assess the worth of a particular job and the pay that should be attributed to it

HR processes and procedures to ensure managersí pay decisions reflect this

ìPay is often unequal due to the detailed decisions taken by line and HR managers,î says Jane. ìThis includes decisions about starting salary, pay rises, rewarding performance and contribution and promotion. We must address management attitudes and practices if we want to make pay more equal.î