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 Author: Michael Coates, managing director, Protostar Leadership Development
Topic: Equal pay / diversity | are your female workers getting a fair deal?
About: Protostar Leadership Development
Michael Coates is the founder of Protostar Leadership Development and has many years experience of managing, recruiting and training employees around the globe. An active advocate of diversity, Michael is a mentor to both male and female managers and has been a harassment counsellor with a global corporation. All Protostar’s consultants have experience of managing in a diverse environment and can audit and advise on a wide range of diversity related issues.
OVERVIEW
• Since 1908, International Women's Day that takes place on 8 March has been a day to reflect on and celebrate the role of women in countries around the world. It is designed to inspire and recognise the many achievements made by women. However, 100 years after the initial marches in New York demanded shorter working hours and improved pay for women, a recent study has highlighted that women in London typically get paid 25% less than male colleagues and one in six companies who undertook an equal pay survey found that there was a gender based pay differential.
• So even if you are not intending to have a celebration on 8 March, maybe it’s an appropriate day to review how you stand against best practice. While this article concentrates on women, many of these areas apply to all minorities.
WHEN TO USE THIS GUIDE
• Organisations who have not undertaken rigourous and independently audited diversity reviews
• Under represented by various minority groups
• Exposed to potential litigation
• Failing to secure major contracts from companies who insist that all suppliers meet their diversity standards.
10-STEP ACTION PLAN
1. Recruitment
• Get detailed demographic data at the key recruitment stages.
• What proportion of applicants were female?
• What proportion of those selected for interview and those selected for the role, were female?
• Look for obvious discrepancies, and drill down to see if it varies by recruiter. Industry data is often available for the applicant and hiring points, see how you compare.
• Insist that agencies must provide suitably 'qualified' female candidates in the selection they put forward.
• Ensure that job adverts promote your flexible working arrangements (see below).
Ensure that interviewers are suitably trained to ensure that female interviewees are asked:
• appropriate, questions
• legal questions
• ones consistent with male interviewees?
Involve a senior level female in interview panels and the final selection process. You need to ensure that the final process is objective fair and evidenced based.
If your organisation does not have such a female, then request help from local employment agencies or other companies in the area.
2. Job design
Many roles can be undertaken as a job share arrangement; with flexible hours and/or location:
• Why is your company not offering this for most roles?
• Sell the benefits to sceptical managers.
• Overcome trivial roadblocks such as 'job shares show up as two on the head count report thereby taking us over our limit.'
3. Training
Attending training can be difficult as it is generally arranged for a group and does not reflect the flexible hours of an individual.
Try to offer all training in a variety of:
• timings
• locations
• formats
• offer compensation for any additional child care costs.
4. Coaching
Particularly if your organisation is male dominated, then providing high potential female employees of all levels, with a coach or mentor can be highly beneficial. It helps level the field and provides them with an additional advocate. Ideally the coach should be a successful female however as these may be in short supply in your company, look externally for suitable male or female coaches.
5. Succession planning
Overcoming the legendary glass ceiling is still an issue particularly if the majority of the people decision-makers in your organisation are white, middle-aged, degree qualified males, who tend to feel most comfortable surrounded by similar colleagues.
• Analysis of promotion data can often highlight and shame senior management groups into reviewing their approach.
• Ensure that flexible working is available even at senior levels.
• Does success depend upon merit or upon who you know and what network you are in?
• Ensure that you have a rigorous evidenced based process for identifying, tracking and developing those with potential.
Have an external consultant conduct confidential interviews and coaching with your male managers. It's not uncommon for male managers to simply not know how to deal with female colleagues as their life experience has revolved around female family members, girlfriends and secretaries. This can be resolved with coaching.
6. Equal pay/grade
Nationally, depending upon whose figures you go by, female employees receive around 17% less in pay than males (25% in London) despite 30 years of equal pay legislation.
Anlayse your pay data by:
• gender
• grade
• department.
Look for statistical anomalies. If you don’t have someone who can do correlation analysis, engage the services of a local university or get in a temp with those skills.
Are women graded fairly? Take a random selection and have their grade anlaysed against either your internal criteria or a recognised process such as Hay. Compare and contrast against males within that grade. Look in particular at level of responsibility and accountability.
7. Work/life balance
• Do you have a policy? If so does it actually lead to work/life balance or is it just nice words?
• How are you communicating your work/life balance policy?
• Do people know what’s on offer and how they might take it forward. Advertising on the inside of toilet doors is often effective!
• Use real examples if possible in your promotion.
8. Anti harassment process
While harassment is not restricted to female employees they do tend to be frequent recipients and if they have been brought up in a culture where: 'that’s just the way it is', then they tend to put up and shut up.
This can be reduced by:
• Respect for others training, that highlights in plain English, what is acceptable behaviour and what you can do if you feel inappropriately treated.
• Harassment counsellors. Not necessarily a manager, these counsellors can be approached confidentially to discuss options if someone feels they are being harassed. Those options typically are.
1. Do nothing (but what will change).
2. With the counsellor’s help, tell the 'harasser' what behaviours you want them to change and the effect is has on you.
3. Make a formal complaint and again the counsellor can provide support.
4. Call a helpline if one exists within your organisation.
9. Affinity groups
If the culture of your organisation will support them, affinity groups can be a useful forum for gathering together those with a particular interest and sharing experiences.
Female affinity groups tend to discuss issues regarding:
• Work/life balance
• Gaining visibility
• Competing in a male environment
• Presentation skills
• Assertiveness
In addition some groups go beyond work related topics and cover areas such as personal finance.
10. Celebrate success
While it can raise a few male eyebrows, do not be afraid to celebrate the many achievements that your female employees have and at the very least on 8 March, make all women feel extra special. If you have employees from eastern Europe, they may well be used to having a day off and receiving a bonus. While that’s probably not possible for you, maybe a buffet lunch would be?
EXPECTED OUTCOMES | RESULTS
• Initial analysis of data is likely to lead to actions being required.
• Set up a project team to ensure that they are implemented and maintained.
• If successful, then broaden the scope to other minorities if you felt unable to tackle all issues at once.
• The likely result of following these 10 steps is that your organisation will display equality towards females and be on the path to creating the right environment for success.
• Once embedded, you can still go much further to leverage the benefits of a diverse workforce.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
 Protostar Leadership Development
Contact: Michael Coates
T: 0191 3855455
E: info@protostar-dev.com
www.protostar-dev.com
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