Pay equity refers to the fair compensation and benefits individuals receive for performing similar work or work of equal value, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or other personal characteristics. This principle is essential for promoting fairness in the workplace, creating a level playing field in terms of remuneration, and preventing discrimination and bias that may result in unequal pay for comparable work.
Talking about level playing fields…
The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) discovered that English and Welsh cricket had a significant issue with discrimination. Shockingly, they found the average salary for England's women's team was only 20.6% of the men's team, while the allowance for the women's captain was only 31% of the men's captain. As a result, ICEC has taken steps to ensure that England's women's and men's match fees are equalised.
England women's match fees increased to equal men's by England and Wales Cricket Board - BBC Sport
Having had the pleasure of watching the T20 series, England beating Australia at the Oval, I can see that Women’s cricket is pulling in crowds not seen previously.
News like this starts to move the dial more and hopefully, we are seeing a closing of occupational segregation and unconscious bias in terms of setting pay upon hiring and promotions for some professions over others. While progress has been made, pay disparities still exist, so a comprehensive and inclusive approach is needed to address factors contributing to these disparities.
Employers can help by:
- It's important to ensure equal pay for equal work - that means people who do the same job or have the same skills, effort, and responsibility should get paid the same, no matter who they are.
- Encouraging pay transparency about pay ranges and practices can help identify and address disparities.
- It's also important to evaluate jobs based on fair and unbiased factors to prevent undervaluing jobs held by women or marginalised groups.
- Promoting diversity in leadership positions and providing awareness and education can all help address pay equity issues.
- Raising awareness and providing training to employees and management about recognising and addressing bias.
- Implementing policies and practices that prevent discrimination in hiring, promotion, and pay, bonus and benefits decisions.
- Regulations that prohibit pay discrimination are also crucial, and achieving true pay equity requires collaboration between employers, governments, advocacy groups, and individuals.
Innecto hopes that we continue to see this high-profile action and that it starts to build momentum across all professions across all industries. Hopefully, the future generations that enter the workforce will expect and get pay equity from the outset.
See how Innecto delivered Gender Pay Gap (GPG) Reporting for our long-standing client ECB
