Back to Basics

I’ve always been a bit of a pay gap nerd.

But that wasn’t always the case.

When I got my first policy job focusing on equal pay and the gender pay gap, my heart sank. You see, the interview was a competency and skills-based interview. I had no idea what the subject would be, I was told afterwards.

I was over the moon to get the job - a two-level promotion! Whoop!

But I was brought back down to earth with the words ‘equal pay and gender pay gap.’

In truth, I didn’t know what it was. But I could tell by other people’s faces, that it wasn’t *that* good. I started getting the ‘poor you’ looks from behind people's smiles. You know, the smiles that don’t reach the eyes?

At the time I thought it was odd, but looking back now, I realise that their sympathies weren’t about the subject, it was about who my manager was. But that’s a story for another time...

I threw myself into learning all I needed to about pay gaps so that I could provide advice and guidance. It was a steep learning curve.?

So much politics.

So much hand-wringing.

So many circular conversations.

So many ‘obstacles and problems’ touted as to why doing this work was too hard/costly/disruptive.

Yet here we are. A recession and a global pandemic later.?

And we’re still grappling with just how to do the damn thing. How to close the pay gap.

I’ve noticed recently, however, that there is a sort of ‘resetting’ going on with organisations.

The desire to go back to basics.?

The need to go back to communicating and educating teams and workplaces on what the gender pay gap is and isn’t. To give real context behind the pay gap figures that we are seeing.?

I’ve seen a 70% increase in organisations asking for this: the essentials to understanding what the gender pay gap is, how it shows up in workplaces, and what organisations are doing about it.

A lot of this is being driven by the desire to help colleagues understand the key drivers of the pay gap and get clarity on what is and isn’t within the organisation’s control. So that trust and employee engagement can be improved.?

I’m keen to hear where you are on your gender pay gap journey?

Is it still something that’s too hard/costly/disruptive?

Are your employees threatening to revolt because they think you’re not doing anything?

Or are you somewhere in between?

Hit reply and let me know!

Ps. I have 2 spaces in July to provide gender pay gap in-house training for internal teams starting from 4000.

To secure your place email me at?[email protected]

Until next week,

Michelle

Beyond the Pay Gap Figure Podcast

Episode 18: How pay transparency can be a positive challenge

In this case study mini-series episode, Michelle talks to Lauren Kay-Lambert - Co-Managing Director at Shape History.

Lauren shares with us how Shape History decided to turn career and pay appraisal meetings on its head and champion more autonomy and transparency in the process.

Speaking Engagement

TWI - Throughout June 2023

'Empowering line managers to close the gender pay gaps in their teams'.

Gender Pay Gap Portal

Online gender pay gaps basics training

Are you new to addressing gender pay gaps? Are you tearing your hair out because you don’t know where to start? Well I’ve got you covered. Before diving into creating your pay gap strategy you need to ensure that you understand what the pay gap is, what creates it, and how it shows up in organisations. Once you have these foundations, you can begin to consider what strategy you will create to address the issues.

This online gender pay gap basics training not only gives you easily implementable insights such as:

? What the gender pay gap is

? How it differs to equal pay

? How to address pay gap fatigue within your organisation

? Actions you can take to address your pay gap causes

It also gives you strategies like:

? How to effectively communicate your purpose

? How to build trust to improve employee engagement

? Ways to embed to ensure transparency and accountability.

You won’t find these anywhere else online or off!

To gain access to this training, simply click?here ?to access it today.