The Gender Wage Gap: Are We Looking at the Whole Picture?

As drama researcher, I field a lot of questions about empowerment in the workforce. These questions are amplified by the differences between male and female trajectories, roles and compensation in the modern workforce.

On equal pay day, we are forced to take a look at these discrepancies and try to answer a question I hear often from women and industry leaders;

‘How can we fix a broken system?’

My answer to this is two-fold, as there is both a macro and a micro way to look at the issue.

Often, I see people looking at the gender wage gap at a wide range, examining industry data. Yes, we women must ask the big questions like, ‘can we empower ourselves in a system that often sets us up for failure?’ But we must also ask smaller questions like, “what can I do personally to advocate for myself in the workforce?”

The Big Systematic Issue at Play

So what should companies be doing to address salary discrepancies between men and women? At the minimum, companies need to inventory their use of salary dollars at least every two years. You can do this in a number of ways.

One filter with which to analyze these differences is simply the number of dollars paid to men versus women in similar positions. If one or more positions are heavily dominated by men or woman, it is also important to review the value of the position carefully to ensure that the company is not discriminating on a mass scale and disguising it as an issue with the market value of the job. 

Another way to analyze fairness within a company is to juxtapose internal positions to comparable positions within the industry-at-large. This basic type of pay audit should be done every 5 years and is a minimal requirement for companies to mitigate the risk of unfair pay practices. It will do very little to attract talent or further engage talent – it is simply a legal precaution and a short-sighted HR practice and pay philosophy.

We have systemic issues with compensation inequities - the data has shown time and time again that women are not paid equally to men in our businesses on the macro. That needs to be addressed - do your part to clean up compensation systems in business and between industries.

Zooming in On Accountability

On the micro level, and here is where personal accountability comes in, I personally have not been paid less than market rate. In the past, I have chosen not to accept jobs with pay that is below market rate. Therein lies the accountability - on the micro - if you are underpaid, ask yourself, ‘why did you agree to it or accept it?’ If it was an urgent situation, ‘what have you done to move to a better situation since you had to settle?’

Your gender has nothing to do with whether or not you are worthy of a raise.

Your value as an employee is, male or female, dependent upon the value you bring to the organization, the market value of your services and the return on investment that you deliver both economically and emotionally, today and into the future. And, unlike your gender, all these factors are within your control.

If you suspect you are adding more value than you are currently being compensated for or are adding more value than many men who are being paid more, forget about gender and go in for a professional conversation on your value.

Painting the Whole Picture

Individual accountability and these forces work together. On the macro, the individual doesn’t have as much power to directly impact an entire culture and that is why awareness of the issue, proper voting, supporting other women in your company and your industry, highlighting inequities, and highlighting companies not paying fairly are of vital importance.

On the macro, be an activist! On the micro, step into your own power and be accountable for your own situation.

Invest in Yourself

Don’t wait for your employer to determine your future earning potential or the fate of your career wealth. Invest in yourself by investing in your value, and your skillset. In order to advocate for women, we must advocate for ourselves.

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