Monday, 18 September is International Equal Pay Day: a day to observe efforts made towards the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value. The day marks the day of the year on which women will, on average, earn what men did in the previous year – which typically takes them 15 months.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), median hourly pay for full-time employees was 8.3% less for women than for men in April 2022. On a global scale, meanwhile, women are paid, on average, around 20 per cent less than their male counterparts. As such, while awareness of the gender pay gap is growing, and measures – such as Sustainable Development Goals – have been put in place by organisations like the United Nations, there remains work to be done.
We’d like to use the occasion to discuss one way in which you can create a more equitable and open workplace, all while attracting top talent: salary transparency.
Why is there a gender pay gap?
The size of the gender pay gap depends on multiple factors, including age, occupation and industry, region, and the number of hours worked. But these factors explain only part of the disparity: discrimination based on sex plays a significant role, while women were one of the worst affected by COVID-19, with income security and the gendered division of family responsibilities at play in tandem. With this background in mind, it’s clear that closing the gender pay gap is more important than ever, and several actions have been taken by governments and organisations alike. We all have a part to play, and one of the ways you can help is by being transparent about your salary.
What can you do?
Back in 2021, CharityJob and Third Sector made the decision to implement a salary transparency measure where only jobs that fully disclose the salary would be accepted. Why? Research has shown that including a salary not only helps increase job applications but also contributes to a more equitable workplace. We encourage our clients to do the same – and here are a few reasons why.
Fairness
Being transparent about compensation won’t just help with attracting candidates; it also helps to tackle pay inequality and create a fairer workplace.
According to the Show the Salary campaign, salary secrecy is a discriminatory practice that perpetuates pay gaps, hitting women and people of colour the hardest. Not including a salary prevents people from applying for roles and creates barriers to salary negotiations, which, again, affects women: research has shown that women who attempt to negotiate their pay are less likely to be successful than men. Being honest about your salary, then, will allow you to avoid contributing to this discrimination while also increasing the number of people who apply – and, in turn, the diversity of your talent pool.
Clarity
Being upfront about what you intend to pay helps both you and the candidate. From the jobseeker’s perspective, salary is one of the first elements they will review. In fact, a LinkedIn survey indicated that 61% of jobseekers consider compensation information the most important element of a job advert. You’ll also see a significant difference in both the quantity and quality of applicants: CharityJob found that job listings with salaries receive twice as many applications as those without, meaning that you’ll widen your talent pool considerably. Including full details of the salary removes any ambiguity for the candidate and filters out any jobseekers with unrealistic expectations so that you can save time spent on unsuitable applicants: it’s a win/win.
Motivation
Finally, being open about what you pay will help to motivate your existing employees, too.
Research has shown that employees are more motivated when companies are transparent about salary, with one study revealing that employees worked harder and more productively when they were able to compare their earnings with those of others.
In closing
Disclosing salary information is beneficial to you and your employees – both existing and prospective – so please make sure that you Show the Salary.
We hope this information is helpful. And, if you have any questions or want to know more about how we can help you attract top talent with your adverts, please get in touch.
