Gender Pay Disparities

The relocation decisions of male-female couples are predominantly determined by what's best for the man's career: 1. Couples are more likely to relocate when a man is laid off than after a woman is. 2. Men's earnings increase following a couple's move to a new commuting zone, while women's earnings stay the same or decline. This in part because women spend less time working, particularly in the first year after the move when they are more likely than men to be job hunting. The gender gap persists for at least five years and is largest among couples who are in their 20s. The researchers study Germany and Sweden, and attribute the results to relocation decisions being driven by antiquated gender norms. They conclude that "households in both countries place less weight on income earned by a woman compared to a man, particularly in Germany." By Seema Jayachandran, Lea Nassal, Matthew J. Notowidigdo, Marie Paul, Heather Sarsons, and Elin Sundberg. https://lnkd.in/eHSXi5Mj

Friday marked Equal Pay Day, the moment in the year when women in the UK effectively stop being paid in comparison to men. Which means that today is the first Monday where, statistically, the work women do until 31st December goes unpaid. That reality comes from a 10.9% gender pay gap, based on the latest ONS data. Yes, the gap has halved over the last three decades, but progress has stalled over the past five years. We’re no longer moving forward. We’re plateauing. To clarify, this isn’t about women making “different choices.” It’s about: ✨ Bias in hiring and promotion ✨ Lack of flexible working as a default ✨ Pay secrecy ✨ Slow action on workplace equality In fact, analysts estimate that closing the gender pay gap could add £55 billion to wages and significantly boost the UK economy. We’re also entering a new era where AI and automation are reshaping the workforce. Including how we hire! Evidence already shows some AI tools are more likely to reject female candidates. If we don’t act, we risk baking inequality into the next generation of workplaces. Behind every statistic are real women who have spent years being undervalued, underpaid, or shut out of opportunities. For them, this isn’t data. It’s their livelihood, wellbeing, and future. No woman should have to fight, year after year, just to be paid fairly. #EqualPayDay #GenderPayGap #FutureOfWork #AIandEquality

You don’t get promotions, bonuses, or recognition for this job. But without it, nothing works. That’s me with my girls, many years ago on a trip back to India. They’re young adults now and about to enter the workforce. For nearly a decade, I raised them as a single dad—while leading in senior leadership and C-suite roles. Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, school matters, medical appointments, extra-curricular activities, friends, pick-up/drop-off runs… the list was endless. It wasn’t easy. I was juggling all day—work, kids, home—trying not to drop anything. And I was very fortunate to have had incredibly supportive leaders and team members who understood the challenge. But let me be clear—I’m not sharing this for your sympathy or support. I’m sharing this because the experience of raising my girls gave me a unique and often overlooked perspective on the hidden cost women pay when balancing professional careers and caregiving. For a moment, replace me with any other woman in your family—your partner, daughter, maybe even your mom—and you start seeing the bigger picture. This isn’t about saying men don’t contribute—many do. But the numbers tell a different story. 👇 🔹 Workforce gap – Women’s participation: 62.5% (men: 71.3%). 🔹 55% pay cut – Women’s earnings drop post-childbirth. Men’s? Unaffected. 🔹 Childcare penalty – High costs make full-time work unaffordable for many women. 🔹 Retirement gap – Women retire with 23% less Super, increasing financial insecurity. 🔹 Unpaid labour = another job – Women do 30+ hours/week of unpaid care (men: 22 hours). (Source: Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, 2023 Report to the Australian Government). These issues are major contributors to the Gender Pay Gap. As a C-Suite leader, you have the power to break these barriers—starting now. Here are two steps you can take immediately: ✔️ Provide flexibility – Support caregiving without compromising career growth. ✔️ Encourage equal parental leave – Normalise men taking an equal caregiving role. 📩 If this resonates, let’s talk. I’d love to hear your thoughts—message me for a copy of my guide. "Closing the Gender Pay Gap & Accelerating Women into Leadership Positions." #Leadership #DiversityAndInclusion #GenderEquity #FutureOfWork --- For senior leaders navigating complex challenges, the journey to impactful leadership can feel daunting at times—but it doesn’t have to be walked alone. Anoop, with 30+ years of experience across three continents, a former Board member and CPO of a Fortune 10 company in Australia, and winner of the 2022 HR Leader of the Year award, advises senior leaders on making profound changes.

We rank 129th out of 146 countries on gender pay gap. While equal pay ensures that men and women earn the same for identical tasks, the wage gap captures the broader disparities in earnings across sectors, roles, and lifetimes. So a physician is likely to earn more than a interior decorator, all other things being equal - if you have 20 years of experience you will earn more than someone with half of that… on average... Here are some contributing factors and solutions we can all champion: 1️⃣ Occupational Choices: A quick Google search for "best careers for women in India" surfaces predictable and lower-paying options like teaching, nursing and social media management. Compare that to men’s results—data science, investment banking, engineers, architects, and pilots. These results appear beacuse these careers are getting searched and I worry as women we often "satisfice," balancing societal and familial expectations, while men "optimize" for the highest-paying roles on day 1. It’s time for authentic conversations about these choices. Let’s guide young women to evaluate career paths based on averages, not outliers, and encourage them to aim higher. 2️⃣ Subject Selection in School: Math is often dropped too soon. Many girls give it up because they "don’t like it," but this limits access to high-paying fields like architecture and product design. Schools and parents must help students understand how early subject choices shape long-term opportunities - and that grades will only matter so much. 3️⃣ Continuous Employment: Caregiving responsibilities often push women out of the workforce. Staying employed—whether through flexible roles or reduced hours—builds future earning potential. Women, let’s have honest conversations with our managers about what we need to stay in the game. 4️⃣ Workplace Biases: Even when salaries start equally, biases creep in, slowing women’s growth over time. Transparency in pay and promotions is crucial, but so is equipping women with negotiation skills to fight for what they deserve. Role play with colleagues before your annual appraisal chats, read 'how to be effective' at these, find your path but find it. Some argue that women’s "choices" are their agency and many choose the lower paying tracks to lead fulfilling lives. But if those choices perpetuate disparities, they’re shaped by structural inequities, not freedom. The truth is simple: money is power. If we continue earning less, we’ll keep holding less power—socially and economically. We owe it to ourselves and the next generation to change this narrative. What are your thoughts? How can we address the gender wage gap in your industry? Let’s start a conversation. 💬 #futureofwork #genderequality #equalpay #wagegap

A new analysis of millions of salary data points shows a troubling pattern, the gender pay gap doesn’t arrive fully formed. It compounds quietly over the course of a career: ∙ Entry level (0 years): 12% gap ∙ 10 years in: 19% gap ∙ 30 years in: 25% gap In the early stages, the disparity has little to do with unequal pay for the same work. But by the 10-year mark, a within-role gap begins to emerge. Women earn roughly 4% less than male peers in comparable roles with comparable experience. Beyond that point, something more structural takes hold. The within-role gap levels off at around 4–5%, yet the overall gap continues to widen because men are significantly more likely to move into higher-paying roles as their careers progress. The study also found that women’s earnings tend to plateau in their mid-30s, while men’s continue climbing into their 40s, a pattern that holds whether women re-enter the workforce after a break or remain continuously employed. The disparity extends beyond paychecks. Women report measurably lower workplace satisfaction (3.49 vs. 3.60 overall), with the largest gap in compensation and benefits. This holds true across industries, across companies, and even within the same organizations. The gender pay gap is no longer just a matter of equal pay for equal work. It is, at its core, a story of unequal access to career advancement too, and until that structural barrier is addressed, the possibilities are that the gap will continue to compound.

Q. Is there still a pay gap in the US? A. Yes, a significant pay gap still exists in the U.S., with women earning considerably less than men, especially women of color, though the gap varies by age and occupation; however, recent data suggests the gap actually widened in 2024 after years of slow narrowing, driven by stagnant wages for women while men's increased, showing pay inequality remains a persistent challenge. Key Figures & Trends: Overall Gap: In 2024, women earned about 81-85 cents for every dollar men earned, a slight decline from prior years, with some sources citing figures as low as 75 cents on the dollar when looking at all earners. Widening Gap: The gap grew in 2024, the first increase in over two decades, as men's salaries rose while women's remained flat, worsening lifetime earnings. Younger Workers: The gap is smaller for younger women (ages 25-34) who earn closer to men (around 95 cents), but it expands significantly as they age. Women of Color: The disparity is starkest for Black and Hispanic women, who earn significantly less than white men and women. Why the Gap Persists: Discrimination: Gender and racial bias in hiring and promotion. Job Segregation: Women concentrated in lower-paying fields, and undervalued roles. Caregiving Burden: Women still bear more unpaid caregiving, impacting their career progression. Lack of Policy: Insufficient workplace policies supporting family care. Impact: Lower lifetime earnings, leading to less Social Security and retirement savings for women. A projection that pay equality won't be achieved until 2088 at the current rate of change. In essence, while some areas show progress, the U.S. still struggles with substantial pay inequality, with recent data indicating a concerning reversal in closing the gap.

As WGEA’s mandatory gender targets take effect, it’s tempting to rush straight into action. To pick a number. Draft a statement. Publish a plan. But here’s what we know: targets set without understanding the systems behind the data risk doing more harm than good, especially in this environment. Because gender pay gaps, leadership gaps, and promotion gaps are not just numbers. They’re signals, telling the story of your systems, power structures, and workplace culture. And if we don’t listen, we miss the opportunity - and the obligation - to act: A 9% gender pay gap? ⚠️ A warning sign. Less than 35% women in leadership? 🚩 A red flag. 5% of all promotions to part-timers? ❗ Low male uptake of parental leave? 🔍 A cultural cue. These aren’t quirks of the data. They’re evidence of deeper risks: - Sex-based discrimination in career pathways - Bias in performance and promotion - Cultural assumptions about gender roles - Power imbalances that enable harassment And under Respect@Work, these risks are now your legal responsibility to identify and eliminate. Positive Duty is in force - and the financial and reputation risks continue to grow. ✨ GEN – our Gender Equality Navigator – analyses what’s behind your numbers. And this is what our clients are loving right now. One client’s coaching data revealed 5 clear barriers to equality - but it also what was working and needed to be amplified. For example: - Why ambition stalls after parental leave - Why women weren't applying for senior roles - Where sponsorship capability is missing - How flex stigma erodes progression - Why men aren't taking their full parental leave allocation So, instead of chasing arbitrary targets, they set goals around promotion equity, parental leave consistency, and pay gap reviews - tackling the real drivers of inequality in their business. That’s exactly why we built GEN: to combine system-level data with coaching insights, so you can set targets that are grounded in evidence and act on the root causes of inequality. 👉 If you’re setting your gender targets right now, let’s talk about how GEN can help you see not just the numbers, but the story behind them. #RespectAtWork #WGEA #genderequality #leadership #culture Caroline Maillols [Mah-yols] Vikas Thakur Ben Gilbert Tegan Sturrock

Today is Equal Pay Day in the UK—the day women effectively stop being paid compared to men for the rest of the year, according to the Fawcett Society. This year, the UK gender pay gap has widened to 11.3%, up from 10.7% last year. Why does this gap persist? 🔶 Women are disproportionately more likely to take on part-time or lower-paid roles to balance caregiving responsibilities. 🔶 Women perform 75% of the world’s unpaid care work (Caroline Criado Perez, Invisible Women). 🔶 Lack of affordable childcare options creates additional barriers. 🔶 Even in the same roles and working the same hours as men, nearly two-thirds of the gap remains unexplained. 🔶 Intersectional inequalities mean Black, disabled, and minoritised women face even larger gaps. The impact extends beyond careers—on average, women retire with £136,000 less than men (Moneybox). What can companies do to close the gap? ✅ Make flexible work the default at all levels to normalise it and reduce stigma. ✅ Conduct regular pay audits and adjust disparities. ✅ Implement structured salary frameworks. ✅ Publish salary bands on job postings. ✅ Stop asking applicants for their current salary—ask about expectations instead. Basing offers on past pay perpetuates inequality. At Sona, I’m proud we do all of the above. To my network of HR and People leaders: What else would you add to this list? #EqualPayDay

Did you know that women in biotech and pharma earn just 88 cents for every $1 their male counterparts make? I've observed a troubling trend that may be perpetuating this gap. Over the past 6 months, I've documented 23 separate LinkedIn posts from professionals (all women, 21 of whom work in HR or TA) proudly announcing they rescinded job offers because candidates attempted to negotiate their compensation packages. What's particularly concerning is how this behavior creates a feedback loop 5 female candidates recently told me they were afraid to counteroffer specifically because they had seen these posts. Some wouldn't even allow me to negotiate on their behalf—despite knowing additional compensation was available. The data suggests a problematic dynamic When men negotiate, they're often perceived as "ambitious," while women displaying the same behavior are labeled "difficult." This cultural difference starts early in how we socialize children and carries through to professional environments where it manifests as tangible financial disadvantages. As recruitment partners, we have a responsibility to recognize these patterns. Negotiation is a standard part of the American employment process—not a character flaw or sign of disloyalty. When TA professionals (especially those with SHRM credentials or who champion DEI initiatives) brag about punishing negotiation attempts, they're actively suppressing women's wages and contradicting their stated values. For hiring managers and companies How are you ensuring your compensation practices aren't inadvertently reinforcing gender pay disparities? Are your recruiters and HR teams trained to recognize these biases? For candidates, Negotiation is your right. If an offer is rescinded solely because you respectfully inquired about compensation adjustments, that's a significant red flag about company culture. What steps is your organization taking to ensure fair compensation practices across gender lines? I'd love to hear your thoughts. #BiotechEquity #FairCompensation #RecruitmentBestPractices #GenderPayGap #TalentAcquisition

I want to shine a light on an ‘elephant in the room’ so we can talk about it more openly. History tells us it’s the only way for discrimination to be addressed. With around 98% of administrative roles filled by women, it’s hard to ignore the connection between gender and the undervaluation of administrative roles. Traditionally, administrative roles have been seen as "women’s work," a term that unfairly implies these jobs are less important and prestigious. This perception has led to a cycle of underappreciation and discrimination. Administration is the largest employer of women globally, however, admin roles often lack the recognition and respect given to male-dominated professions. For example, administrative professionals are often left out of meetings and decision-making processes. According to a survey by the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) 67% report being excluded from meetings that are critical to their roles. This exclusion not only devalues their contributions but also reinforces the stereotype that their role is merely supportive, not strategic. Many administrative professionals face limited opportunities for advancement. The absence of clear career progression paths often leads to job dissatisfaction and stagnation. A report by McKinsey & Company shows that women are 24% less likely to be promoted to managerial positions, a trend that is even more pronounced in administrative roles. A Robert Half report shows that only 15% of administrative professionals believe they have a clear path for career advancement within their organisations. The gender pay gap is well-documented and particularly affects administrative roles. The National Partnership for Women & Families reports that women earn just 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, and this gap is particularly evident in administrative positions. The average female administrative professional earns $14,010 less a year than a male working in a different type of role but at a similar level. And the average man working in an administrative role earns $15k a year more on average than a woman doing the same role according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Administrative professionals frequently lack access to training and development opportunities. This limitation hinders their ability to improve their skills and advance in their careers. A study by Lean In found that women are 20% less likely to receive on-the-job training and professional development opportunities compared to men. Only 30% of administrative professionals report having access to professional development resources within their organisations, according to OfficeTeam. It is clear to me that the marginalisation of administrative professionals is a gender issue that reflects broader societal attitudes towards women in the workplace. We urgently need to address the biases that devalue your work. Discuss!!