Women’s Equality Day and Pay Equity

Welcome to Lead With Inclusion! This weekly newsletter is a resource for EVERY professional. Whether you’re a manager ready to be a more inclusive leader, or an employee ready to be a DEI champion in your workplace, inclusive actions lead to inclusive outcomes. Leading with inclusion simply means starting with inclusive actions in everything you do. It means identifying the areas where bias is at work, and shifting mindsets to make change.?

If you’re not sure where to begin, start here.

Did you know that August 26th is Women’s Equality Day?

As I’ve been reflecting on this day and what it means for women in the workplace, I couldn’t help but think about pay equity. As you may be aware, the US recognizes Equal Pay Day each year to raise awareness about the gender wage gap. Equal Pay Day fell in March of this year, but this is a symbolic date; it represents how far into the year the average woman will need to work in order to earn the same amount that the average man made the year before. The date changes every year based on current pay equity data.

What you may not know is that Equal Pay Day can be further broken down when we factor in race. Black Women’s Equal Pay Day just passed at the end of July (representing how far into the year the average Black woman would need to work in order to earn the same amount as her white man counterparts). And over the next few months, we’ll see Latina Women’s, and Native American Women’s Equal Pay Days recognized (in October and November, respectively).?

I talk a lot about the ways that unconscious bias can impact all aspects of an organization, and pay equity is no different. Think about the bias that may exist in your organization when it comes to pay raises and promotions. If you think that a small amount of bias wouldn’t play too large of a role in outcomes, you might be surprised to see what the data shows.?

In my Unconscious Bias course, I share some data from a university study about the impact of a 1% bias. In the study, the researchers used a computer program to simulate what would happen if an organization had a 1% bias towards men when making promotion decisions. The result? With a 1% bias at every 6 month review for 10 years, men end up accounting for almost 2?3 of manager positions. One percent may seem like a small number, but the impact compounds over time. If we think about how long these kinds of biases have been allowed to go unchecked in our workplaces, we can easily see how we’ve gotten to a point where pay disparity is now so vast.?

Small changes add up, and they matter. Here are some small actions you can take to start making positive changes toward pay equity in your organization.?

Lead With Inclusion

At the individual level, we can start by changing the way we talk about our pay. Something I often hear from employees after receiving their annual wage increase is “it’s so small they might as well not have given it to me.” Let’s change this mindset. Small or not, you’re owed an increase and it’s yours. It might seem like these little increases aren’t worth fighting for since they’re so small, but don’t let the dollar amount discourage you. Continue to advocate for yourself when and how you can, and hold your organizational leaders accountable for what they promise. If your manager tells you that they’re unable to give you a raise right now but they’ll review the request again in 6 months, clarify what this means. Does this mean they are guaranteeing you a raise in 6 months, or just that they’ll reevaluate and may determine that a raise still cannot be given? Make sure your leaders are communicating expectations clearly, and set yourself a reminder to follow up with them.

Be An Inclusive Leader

What actions has your organization taken in the last year to promote pay equity? Does your organization complete cost-of-living assessments, for example? If not, now is a great time to start. And if you are, now’s a great time to evaluate how effective these studies may be. How often are these evaluations being completed? Are you conducting pay equity audits to determine equitable pay across roles as the data relates to other identity factors, like race or ability?

It’s important for these assessments to be done on a regular basis to account for constant changes in our workforce and economy. And if you’re thinking to yourself, “Stacey, we just did an assessment last year and not much has changed,” think again. Remember the 1% bias study. Small changes compound on each other, and what starts as a small bias can take years to undo.

If you want to learn more about the ways that bias may be impacting your workplace, my Unconscious Bias course is currently unlocked as part of LinkedIn’s Soft Skills Learning Pathway, which means that you can take the course for free. You can check out the full course here. When you receive your certificate for completing the course, be sure to share it with your networks and tag me in your post!

About Stacey Gordon:

Stacey Gordon is Executive Advisor and Founder of Rework Work where she and her team coach and counsel executive leaders on DEI strategies for the business, while offering a no-nonsense approach to unconscious bias education for the broader employee population. As a global keynote speaker, Stacey is a Top Voice on LinkedIn and a popular LinkedIn Learning [IN]structor with nearly two million unique learners enjoying her courses.?