Women’s Equality Day: No glass ceiling in sight from the edge
It's Women's Equality Day, but it'll be 135.6 years before women and men reach parity on a range of factors, versus the 99.5 years cited in 2020.
There’s a lot going on around the world to be worried about, making this a very different International Women’s Day (IWD) than many of us have experienced in our lifetimes.
International Women’s Day: Timeline of formation and evolution
And now we’re here,
on International Women’s Day 2022 – a point in time where COVID-19 and other factors have set back gains toward equality for women, meaning it’ll be over 100 years before attainment.
As The Center for American Progress notes in this must-read article on the wage gap for women of color: “Not only has the United States relied on women of color as essential workers to help keep the economy running, provide much-needed services, and sustain families throughout the pandemic, but it has also watched these women shoulder disproportionate job losses and caregiving challenges—all while they are earning just a fraction of what their white and male counterparts earn.”
2022 Gender pay gap: Same job, different pay (and bonus structures)
In the United States, the gender pay gap still makes for shocking headlines – especially for younger generations.
And that’s because by the most recent count, women make about $10,150 less than men a year for the same job.
(Whereas overseas, countries have begun passing laws mandating equal pay, as well as publicly publishing wages – which helped to greatly advance equal pay for equal work.)
That discrepancy varies based on state and industry.
Wyoming, for instance, has the highest discrepancy, with women making $21,676 less than men on average. Vermont, on the other hand, has the lower discrepancy, with women making $4,600 less than men on average.
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In some industries, like sports, the gender pay gap is more visible
The United States women’s national soccer team is the most successful in international women’s soccer. They’ve won:
- Four Women’s World Cup titles
- Four Olympic gold medals
- Eight CONCACAF Gold Cups
Yet it took suing the United States Soccer Federation for them to earn equal pay to their male counterparts (a much less successful team, I might add).
For some women, their childhood personality type seems to dictate just how much less they earn than their male colleagues.
“A young woman deemed to have been headstrong as a child will earn $2,431 a year less than a comparable man,” according to the World Economic Forum research.
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That same World Economic Forum research also found that risk aversion in women and overconfidence in men can cause the gender pay gap to narrow or widen.
In other words, when salaries are not made transparent, or when organizations don’t have clear, documented salary calculations for role based on experience and responsibilities, it’s far too easy to manipulate salaries up or down based on how a company perceives someone.
But perception is not reality – it’s time for reality to dictate salaries for everyone – and thanks to social media platforms, it’s even easier to get the conversation rolling.
There are several ways companies around the world are successfully making their salaries more equitable.
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There aren’t many companies like Buffer, which has gone so far as to publish the salaries of all of its employees, and that’s ok.
Not everyone thinks that the definition of “pay transparency” should be absolute transparency, but Buffer certainly does.
Not only do they publish the salaries of their employees, they also educate folks on their pay formula, and write blog posts about any changes to that formula, like their recent decision to implement location-independent pay.
“I’ve had many healthy debates with other remote leaders, and there are arguments for eliminating a location component which I haven’t agreed with,” writes Joel Gascoigne, CEO and co-founder at Buffer.
“I don’t believe pay differences across locations is unethical, and it has made a lot of sense for us in the past. However, the last few years have seen a lot of change for remote teams. A change like this isn’t to be made lightly, and at our scale comes with considerations.”
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Securing the (whole) bag: Transparent package calculations
Similar to Buffer’s salary formula, many larger organizations around the world are transparent about how they arrive at the offered salary package.
In case you’re wondering how a package compares to a salary, a package includes the base salary, bonuses, equity, and more.
In many global technology companies, different levels of employees get different salary ranges depending on their experience, with a set level of equity and bonus percentages at those levels. As you get promoted to new levels, your salary package increases.
You can find a ton of information on these levels on sites like Quora, where employees break down how the system works. For example, one user writes:
“
- Base salary ranges from about 130k to 150k.
- Annual bonus is 15–25% of your base salary, assuming you aren’t performing poorly.
- Equity grants can be all over the place, but you can expect 60k to 120k worth per year, vesting over four years.
This adds up to roughly 250k to 300k USD per year in total compensation.”
When employees understand how a system like this works so well, it’s clear that the organization is doing a lot of work to make the underlying calculations transparent.
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Speak up, speak out: Transparent conversations
Outside of your organization taking steps toward more equitable pay for men and women, the next best thing is to talk about it.
Talk about your salary with your trusted co-workers, and with your friends, with trusted colleagues in your industry. (You can even join in on the TikTok trend.)
Now is the time to figure out your skills’ market value, and then get that market value for yourself.
Whether you work at a company that’s transparent about pay and pay scales, or whether you’re participating in a large global movement around pay transparency, it all matters – and it all makes a difference.
Money isn’t the only important thing in this world, but the security and peace of mind it can provide is critical to women attaining equality. You don’t need it all, but we all should get what we deserve.
