Why your gender pay gap figure is making you feel sick

On 25th April I held my first roundtable of 2023.

A roundtable with a twist though.

Instead of having just me as a host, I invited?two guests?Lucy Miller?from Buro Happold and?Dr Julie Humphreys?from Reach Plc to share what they're doing at their organisations to close the pay gap.

What made this roundtable different was:

• Hearing from two organisations what they were doing behind the scenes
• Showcasing actions they were taking that had nothing to do with just trying to get the pay gap figure down
• Providing attendees with the chance to ask questions, share obstacles as well talking about what works for their organisation and sector

I could literally see lightbulbs going off during their showcase sessions and during the Q&A.

There was a lot of honesty shared about pay gap fatigue and apathy and what both organisations have done to combat this. The innovative decisions they've made are authentic and impactful. I'm confident that you would truly benefit from hearing their stories.

I know that this will sound like bragging - but it was a really good roundtable.

Why?

Because we all had the space to be honest about what works, what doesn't, and what we'd like to do instead.

Often we get caught up in the negative headlines about the gender pay gap, but this roundtable showed that there is a different way to do things.

One of the things that struck me was both organisations' journeys in doing pay gaps work. I asked Buro Happold how long it took to get to the stage of knowing that they needed a new approach. One that didn't focus on just getting the pay gap figure down.

The answer was 2 to 3 years.

2 to 3 years of pay gap fatigue and apathy.

I believe this to be true, as I hear this a lot from organisations, struggling with trying to just reduce the figure to please others.

Clearly it's not working and a new approach is needed. Which is why the roundtable was so important.

I'm currently reviewing my notes and ordering my thoughts to create a summary document and private podcast episode on what the themes and strategies were that we discussed.

It will be ready in early May, so if you want a copy, let me know and you'll be the first to know when it's available.

Ps. I'll be be running a similar roundtable in September 2023, so if you want to be on the invite wait list, let me know.

And, in the meantime, if you would like some help with your organisation's pay gap reporting, you can book a call with me here.