Gender Pay Disparity, Narratives and Corrections

“The gender pay disparity has cost American women an estimated $61 trillion since 1967,” according to the Center for American Progress.

Did you also know that…

“Americans are asking for more money for new jobs than ever before but women are still accepting far less than men,” writes Emma W. Thorne, editor at LinkedIn News.

“The average lowest salary men will take for a new job is more than $91,000; for women, that number is just over $66,000. It’s a difference that can have lasting consequences: Studies show that even small salary increases early in one's career can have a huge impact on lifetime earnings (see this focused on further on down this special report). The gender pay gap may be the narrowest on record, but it's still alive and well (see this also focused on further down this special report).” See this link.

This begs the questions, what does this lost or potentially stolen $61 trillion over the last 50-plus years communicate not only to women but to society and maybe what does says it say about decision-makers as payers?

Communication Intelligence magazine posed these questions and more in this special report and received feedback from a handful of sources.

Shideh Kaviani

“This large figure isn’t just about money,” says Shideh Kaviani, the president at Naked Wardrobe, a womenswear brand, “It reflects an ongoing issue where women’s work is undervalued. It’s a reminder that we need to address this long-standing problem and work towards fair pay and equal opportunities for all. This number serves as a wake-up call, urging us to take action and create a more balanced and equitable work environment.”

She speaks to what specifically this undervaluation of women’s efforts, contributions and wins can be attributed.

“Deep-rooted gender stereotypes and biases often lead to cognitive undervaluation, where societal norms and perceptions downplay women’s capabilities,” Kaviani asserts. “Financial undervaluation is a consequence of these biases, leading to unequal pay and limited access to opportunities.”

She has a proposal to effectively respond to these factors.

“To address these challenges,” Kaviani says, “it’s essential to tackle societal attitudes, foster diversity and inclusivity and put in place policies that guarantee fair recognition and compensation for women’s valuable contributions and achievements.”

She elaborates on a proposed plan of action:

“This involves challenging traditional gender roles, biases and norms; implementing transparent pay structures, conducting regular pay equity audits and promoting diversity and inclusion at all levels of a business (to) help create a more balanced and fair compensation workplace.”

Sara Axelbaum

“The $61 trillion in lost wages for American women since 1967 is staggering proof of the deep gender inequities that persist,” says Sara Axelbaum, global head of diversity, equity and inclusion at MiQ, a programmatic media partner for marketers and agencies.

“I’ve seen firsthand how pay gaps develop and how we as employers have the power to eliminate them.”

She points to where she works to explain and illustrate.

“In 2020, MiQ confronted our own disparity head-on when we analyzed our detailed pay data, informed our compensation decision-makers — and the world — that women were more likely to be paid in the bottom half of their salary band and (we) adjusted our remuneration approach to pay people, regardless of gender, what they were worth instead of the cheapest we could get them for,” Axelbaum recalls and states.

This of course required a change of thinking, viewpoints and conclusions.

“This effort was part of an overarching philosophical shift from leadership down and the commitment to really hold ourselves accountable,” Axelbaum states. “As a result, we were able to eliminate discrepancies in our salary bands in just one year.”

She does offer a warning about relying on one course correction.

“Pay audits like this are only the start,” Axelbaum advises, because, “Every company must analyze other elements like hiring and promotions, family leave and flexibility policies (which are) all potential sources of inequity.”

It’s not just the sexes that require prompt attention, research, honesty and correction.

“We can’t stop at gender,” Axelbaum contends, “but examine gaps for women of color and other historically marginalized groups.”

What isn’t often discussed or relatively well known are the variety of costs of income disparity related to gender.

“Pay inequity hurts society by devaluing generations of women’s contributions,” Axelbaum says, echoing what Kaviani boldly expressed. “But it also hurts businesses, making it harder to attract and retain top talent.”

Problems identified, she expands on improvements and a comprehensive solution.

“True progress requires conviction from leadership to regularly review compensation, using market research rather than precedent,” Axelbaum recommends.

It is important and societally beneficial, if not ethically critical to make improvements a must-do responsibility.

“By prioritizing pay equity as a human issue, not just a women’s issue, we send the message that women’s work holds equal value,” Axelbaum says. “If we break the cycle of paying people as cheaply as possible, the impact would be profound. Women have been shortchanged by $61 trillion but together we can demand better and create meaningful, lasting change.” 

A significant reframing has to happen for organizations to be less married to underpaying employees, particularly women and go from seeing that as a drain on profits and more an investment in growth.

“Once the philosophy of any organization is to pay people what they are worth, and view fair compensation not as a cost but an investment in growth, the ability to attract top talent, boost retention and performance and build community goodwill, these compounding inequities will no longer be the baseline that everyone starts from,” Axelbaum confidently says.

She explains what’s behind this conclusion.

“Historically, women are less likely to negotiate when hired for their very first job, meaning that when salaries are based on what was previously earned, it becomes a compounding issue by shorting women from the very get-go,” Axelbaum says. “So even if both a male and female employee get a certain percentage raise, the base it came from is likely to be lower for women. 

“In addition, women are less likely to look at a promotion or pay raise as a negotiation and will instead often take what is offered, whereas many men are more likely to ask for more during that key event.

“When companies have the philosophy of paying as little as someone is willing to accept, and women are historically socialized to accept less, inequity will be a natural occurrence.” 

Beth Castle

“The ongoing gender pay disparity heavily implies that women’s contributions don’t matter as much as men’s do, and it reinforces stereotypical gender roles, like that men should be breadwinners and do paid work and women should bear the burden of childrearing and other forms of unpaid labor,” says Beth Castle, the managing editor at InHerSight, a company reviews platform for women.  

“The Pew Research Center found that 53-percent of people say society places more value on men’s contributions at work than at home and only 15 percent of people say society values women’s work contributions more than home.”

This makes it easy to see, Castle contends, that “When data like that exists, you can see really clearly the connection between women’s low or nonexistent pay and sexism.”

Pay gaps are not entirely about women’s pay being less than men’s for the same role, she wants to point out, “although that kind of discrimination happens sometimes. Gendered pay disparities exist (sometimes) because women enter lower-paying professions, switch to part-time or lower paying roles after having children and are less likely to negotiate for more pay.

Yet, “Each of these facets is directly linked to societal expectations of women,” Castle says.

Older mindsets are difficult to overcome, even in 2023 due to what Castle asserts is sexism and typical biases.

“I think it's interesting when people ask questions like, ‘Why is this still happening in X year?’ when the reality is that the sexism behind our biases and gender roles is thousands of years old,” she explains. “So while it’s fantastic that many people are becoming more aware of gender inequity and proactive in changing our society, we’re really just beginning to chip away at this massive, deeply engrained entity.

“It’s the quintessential iceberg. It seems small and manageable above the surface, but 90% of it is underwater.”

When asked if she forecasts women as a collective having less aversion to negotiating more assertively and successfully, especially with successful women negotiators and advocates offering training and counsel, Castle gets excited.

“For sure!” she exclaims. “Whether through trainings, TikToks, mentorships, etc., I find that women are eager to learn how to navigate the workforce and grow their careers in the way that suits them best.

“What I’ve personally experienced when leading workshops on salary and negotiation is that a lot of the things that I thought were common knowledge, like how you should always negotiate, are not actually. People aren’t always aware that others are asking for more pay and how they're doing it.”

The task at hand then is a constant, figuratively speaking, pulling back the curtain.

“There’s a real awareness effort that needs to be made,” Castle says. “Any opportunity I have to give women a behind-the-scenes look at what happens in other people’s interviews always leads to a lightbulb moment.”

Stephanie Venn-Watson

“Salary transparency is important in any office environment. Gender pay gaps are unfortunately still an issue in this day and age,” says and laments Stephanie Venn-Watson, entrepreneur and public health scientist.

“Women need to have an open and honest discussion with colleagues about the pay gap and the favoritism that comes with it. If women don’t spark the initial conversation, how will there be progress?” she rhetorically asks.

There is a beginning that she proposes and recommends.

“When discussing pay transparency, start with the purpose of the conversation and some signs of a pay gap or favoritism, such as unfair promotions to one gender or doing excessively more work than a male counterpart in the same role,” Venn-Watson says.

“This holds companies accountable,” she adds, “and while it may feel like an uncomfortable conversation to have, it’s necessary.

In addition, she states, there is value to talk salary now and regularly.

“It’s beneficial to both parties to discuss their current salary and ensure everyone is being paid a fair and equal wage.”

Ursula Mead

There are productive questions that can be asked and certain types of proposals made that would could move organizational decision makers off of old, limited thinking and towards enlightenment and wisdom of equality in pay for women.

“Companies should be asking themselves how their leaders in DEI are approaching pay equity in the organization,” says Ursula Mead, the founder and CEO at InHerSight, a company reviews platform for women.  

“What are their policies around negotiations, raises, promotions, etc? When was the last time they changed our pay policies? Have they ever calculated or had a third party calculate their pay gap, if one exists? How often are they educating their managers on equitable performance evaluations and pay awareness?” she proposes and advises.