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Diversity

Moving jobs, negotiating a pay rise? Check out what your worth first.

9 January, 2019 By WiC

ThePayIndex

Are you earning what you’re worth?

– global executive gender pay gap falls dramatically to 8.7%
– UK gap nearly halves since March to 12%
– US leads the way with gap dropping to 2%
– CEOs have the biggest gender gap of 31%
– in Technology, gender gap has reversed in favour of women

Research published last November has highlighted the impact equality legislation is having on the gender pay gap for senior executives, with the global gap nearly halving to from 17.1% to under nine percent (8.7%).

While the UK is witnessing the largest narrowing of the gap – in the six months from March it fell from 21.5% to 12.2% – executive pay is noticeably more equitable in the US, where the gender gap decreased from 7.9% to 2% during the same period.

The findings have emerged from global analysis of remuneration packages of over 7,700 executives earning over $100,000 conducted by The Pay Index, the leading source for senior executive compensation and part of the international human capital specialist firm Leathwaite.

Before new regulations in the UK were implemented in April the gap was significantly larger. In the United States, last year’s introduction of legislation in several states which restricts companies from asking prospective employees about their existing pay has effectively given the country a six-month lead in the battle for pay parity.

James Rust, founder and managing director of The Pay Index said

These laws have put gender pay firmly under the spotlight. The Pay Index is providing us with an unrivalled insight into the current global gender pay gap – and with over 100 new executives adding their profiles every week, it’s allowing this on-going debate to be underpinned by real-time statistics.

However, there is still much work to be done to create parity, but the speed and direction of the trend is a very positive sign. We’re hopeful that in a further six months, the size of the gap we’re seeing in the UK will gravitate much more closely to those figures in the US.

It’s well documented that companies are facing increasing challenges to attract and retain talent – at all levels – due to skills shortages, high employment levels and increasing job opportunities. As such, companies with gender pay gaps will find it increasingly difficult to maximise their performance if they do not embrace pay parity. Pay parity is a positive thing for both individuals and business.

The Pay Index analysed trends within ten key industries over the last six months

Key Findings

  • CEO … the gender gap has almost halved. Currently men receive 30.5% more vs March when they were paid 52% more than women
  • Legal … the gender gap is falling. Currently men receive 29.1% more vs March when they were paid 35.4% more than women
  • Technology … the gender gap has reversed in favour of women. Currently women receive 9.2% more vs March when men were paid 6% more than women
  • COO / Operations … the gender gap has shrunk and is now almost non-existent. Currently women are paid 0.1 % more vs March when men were paid 11.9% more than women
  • Sales, product, marketing and digital … the gender gap has almost halved. Currently men get paid 8.6% more vs March when they were paid 15.5% more than women
  • Risk … the gender gap is falling. Currently men get paid 2.1% more vs March when they were paid 4.6% more than women
  • Audit … the gender gap has narrowed but still favours women. Currently women receive 16.2% more than men vs March when they were paid 23.7% more than men
  • Information Security … the gender gap has narrowed but still favours women. They currently receive 11% more vs March when they were paid 13.2% more than men
  • Finance, Tax & Treasury … the gender gap has widened in favour of men. They currently receive 7% more vs March when they were paid 3.1% more than women
  • Compliance … the gender gap has narrowed slightly but still favours women. Currently women receive 5% more vs March they were paid 6.6% more than men
  • HR … the gender gap is falling, but in a function where there are more women employed than men, currently men receive 14% more vs March when they were paid 18.6% more than women

Check out your salary

ThePayIndex

 

About the data:
– the findings are based on the analysis of 7,708 senior global executives in September
– the respondents analysed lived in 452 different cities across 64 countries
– the original data set (3,912 respondents) was captured in March
– approximately half of the database work within companies with over 10,000 employees
– 90% of the database possess a Bachelors’ and / or Masters’ degree
– 86% of the database possess 16 or more years in industry

About The Pay Index:
The Pay Index, which is the leading source for senior executive compensation, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leathwaite Human Capital Limited.

Leathwaite

Leathwaite was formed in 1999 and is a leading international firm of human capital specialists with offices in London, New York, Hong Kong and Zurich. With a leading reputation for delivering exceptional executive search, executive interim, management consultancy and market intelligence solutions, Leathwaite is seen as a partner of choice for some of the world’s most innovative and ambitious companies.

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Filed Under: Diversity Tagged With: gender, paygap

Challenges in D&I, has progress been made or not?

8 January, 2019 By WiC

Retention and Progression of women still needs to be addressed

Despite significant investment and profile, corporate Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) remains a war of attrition, with women leading only 4% of the world’s largest banks, 3% of food processing companies and 6% of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies.

In a recent white paper Chris Rowe, Global Head of Leathwaite’s HR Practice, examines the current state and some of the challenges associated with corporate Diversity & Inclusion, whilst concluding with suggested strategies for change.

Executive Summary

Sadly, this does not paint a pretty picture.

  • Within the 50 largest companies in the US & UK, mentions of Diversity within corporate reporting and female representation at a leadership level (Executive Committee & Board) in the same organizations are negatively correlated, implying that those who talk about D&I the most are often the least effective at embedding it at a senior level.
  • Inclusion, the practical application of diversity or the “effective management of differences” remains critically misunderstood by many, with the assumption that simply having the right demographics alone is enough to harness the power of a diverse team.
  • Unintended consequences of seemingly relentless messaging on corporate D&I include that of “D&I Fatigue”; wherein the apparent lack of progress leads to a level of inertia internally.
  • Incumbent staff at a mid-senior level can also become disenfranchised by corporate D&I, when they perceive that their performance and promotion prospects are secondary to external candidates who “fit the bill”.
  • Heads of Diversity & Inclusion, those at the vanguard of these efforts, need to be correctly positioned and adequately resourced to help drive change. However, both the positioning and the high demand for these skills dictate that this is a role perceived with mixed effectiveness and high turnover, with the average Head of D&I staying in their role a little over 2.5 years.

However, on a more positive note, Rowe does point out that:

  • Despite these challenges, there remain a number of highly successful initiatives within the global market that indicate strides forward are being made, including the “Returnship” concept. Critical to the success of such schemes is the positioning that they are underpinned by live vacancies of actual corporate positions.
  • Leveraging the contingent labour market (or “gig economy”), building agile organization structures and deploying co-headed functions at a senior level are also all mechanisms to drive a more diverse workforce.

 

Download Report

Visit our searchable Knowledge Bank for a range of reports and studies on gender diversity, leadership and related topics.

 

Leathwaite

Leathwaite was formed in 1999 and is a leading international firm of human capital specialists with offices in London, New York, Hong Kong and Zurich. With a leading reputation for delivering exceptional executive search, executive interim, management consultancy and market intelligence solutions, Leathwaite is seen as a partner of choice for some of the world’s most innovative and ambitious companies.

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Filed Under: Diversity Tagged With: development, diversity, female

Use of NDAs in sexual harassment cases – inquiry calls for your views

13 November, 2018 By WiC

andriano_cz via Getty Images

Scope of the inquiry into use of NDAs

Following its recent inquiry into sexual harassment in the workplace, which recommended that the Government should clean up the use of NDAs in sexual harassment cases, the Committee launches a new inquiry to look at the wider use of NDAs in cases where any form of harassment or other discrimination is alleged. This might include, for example, pregnancy or maternity discrimination or racist abuse.

Women and Equalities Committee Chair Maria Miller said:

Use of NDAs in sexual harassment cases is only part of the picture. This new inquiry will focus on their wider use in other cases involving other forms of harassment or discrimination.

Send your views

The Committee is inviting written submissions to the inquiry. Questions which the inquiry will focus on include:

  • Are there particular types of harassment or discrimination for which NDAs are more likely to be used?
  • Should the use of NDAs be banned or restricted in harassment and discrimination cases? What impact would this have on the way cases are handled?
  • What safeguards are needed to prevent misuse?
  • What is the role of internal grievance procedures? What obligations are there on employers to ensure these are fair and thorough?
  • How easy is it for employees and employers to access good quality legal advice on NDAs? How can quality and independence of legal advice for employees negotiating severance agreements be assured when advice is paid for by the employer?
  • Do some employers use NDAs repeatedly to deal with cases involving a single harasser? If so, is appropriate action being taken to deal with the behaviour?
  • What should the role of boards and directors be? And should employers be obliged to disclose numbers and types of NDAs?

The deadline is Wednesday 28 November.

Please use the written submission form to submit your views to the committee.

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Filed Under: Diversity Tagged With: workplace

Progress for women stalled in corporate America

26 October, 2018 By WiC

WomenintheWorkplace

For the last four years, companies in the USA have reported that they are highly committed to gender diversity. But that commitment has not translated into meaningful progress.

Women continue to be vastly underrepresented at every level. For women of color, it’s even worse. Only about one in five senior leaders is a woman, and one in twenty-five is a woman of color.

Progress isn’t just slow—it’s stalled.

The latest report from LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company is the largest study of its kind, with four years of data from 462 companies employing nearly 20 million people.

A closer look at the corporate pipeline

Since 2015, the first year of this study, corporate America has made almost no progress in improving women’s representation. From the outset, fewer women than men are hired at the entry level. And at every subsequent step, the representation of women further declines. Women of color are the most underrepresented group of all—behind white men, men of color, and white women.

Women are doing their part.

They’ve been earning more bachelor’s degrees than men for over 30 years. They’re asking for promotions and negotiating salaries as often as men. And contrary to conventional wisdom, women are not leaving the workforce at noticeably higher rates to care for children—or for any other reason.

Yet only half of employees think that their company sees gender diversity as a priority and is doing what it takes to make progress—and 20% of employees think their company’s commitment to gender diversity feels like lip service.

Now companies need to do theirs.

This starts with making the business case for diversity, which research shows leads to better performance and more innovation. Then companies need to explain to employees why making a personal commitment to hire, promote, mentor and support women is good not just for business, but for their own careers. Whether CEO or entry-level employee, the person who can work better with half the population will get better results.

Once companies make the case, they need to follow through by reporting on progress and holding managers and leaders accountable for results. Most companies aren’t taking these basic yet critical steps to correct their gender gaps.

To make progress quickly, companies should focus on the two biggest levers: hiring and promotions.

As it stands now, women are disadvantaged from the beginning. At the entry level, when one might expect an equal number of men and women to be hired, men get 54% of jobs, while women get 46%. At the next step, the gap widens. Women are less likely to be hired and promoted into manager-level jobs; for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 79 women are. As a result, men end up holding 62% of manager positions, while women hold only 38%.

The fact that men are far more likely than women to get that first promotion to manager is a red flag. It’s highly doubtful that there are significant enough differences in the qualifications of entry-level men and women to explain this degree of disparity. More probably, it’s because of performance bias. Research shows that both men and women overestimate men’s performance and underestimate women’s. This may be particularly acute for women at the start of their careers, when their track records are shortest—and for women of color, who are up against both gender and racial bias.

Companies should foster an inclusive and respectful culture.

Women are more likely to face everyday discrimination—or microaggressions—like being subjected to demeaning comments, having to provide more evidence of their competence, or being mistaken for someone much more junior. For 64% of women—and 71% of lesbian women–microaggressions are a workplace reality. Sexual harassment also continues to pervade the workplace: 35% of women have experienced sexual harassment at some point in their career, from hearing sexist jokes to being touched in an inappropriately sexual way.

Women and men point to the need for companies to do more to create a safe and respectful work environment. Only 27% of employees say that managers regularly challenge biased language and behavior when they observe it. Forty percent say that disrespectful behavior toward women is often quickly addressed by their company. And just 32% think that their company swiftly acts on claims of sexual harassment.

Women are too often the “Only” one

Too few women results in too many “Onlys”—women who are the only or one of the only women in the room. One in five women is an Only, and they are having a significantly worse experience than women who work with more women. They are more likely to deal with microaggressions. They often feel on guard, pressure to perform, and left out. And they are almost twice as likely to have been sexually harassed during the course of their career.

These negative experiences take a toll on women Onlys. Despite having higher ambitions to be promoted and become a top executive, they are 1.5 times more likely to think about leaving their job than women who are not Onlys.

What women say

I sit on our promotion committee. One thing I see is that when women are given more scope and responsibility, and then they deliver success, it takes six months to a year for them to be recognized. Whereas when men get a new responsibility, I’ve seen them immediately get promoted or get recognized without creating any deliverable.
(VP, 6 years at company)

There needs to be a whole lot more accountability. Companies need to be accountable for developing, mentoring, and sponsoring women. And they have to become accountable for hiring more women so that the pipeline is full. Without that kind of accountability, talk about diversity is just lip service.
(SVP, 20 years at company)

I was in the elevator and pressed the button for the executive office. Someone said to me, ‘Um, no honey. That’s for the executive offices. The interns are going to this floor.’
(Director, 4 years at company)

 

Download Report

Visit our searchable Knowledge Bank for a range of reports and studies on gender diversity, leadership and related topics.

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Filed Under: Diversity Tagged With: diversity, female, pipeline

Street harassment “normalised” for women and girls

23 October, 2018 By WiC

harassmentonthestreets

Government failing to address the issue

Following a 9 month inquiry into sexual harassment of women and girls in public, MPs have concluded that while the Government has pledged to eliminate sexual harassment of women and girls by 2030 under its international obligations, there is no evidence of any programme to achieve this.

Moreover, sexual harassment is almost entirely absent in the current cross-departmental strategy for tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.

The Government’s report, published today,  finds that harassment in public places is relentless and becomes ‘normalised’ as girls grow up, contributing to a wider negative cultural effect on society.
The report says that social attitudes, including disrespect of women and an assumption by some men that they can behave in this way, underpin sexual harassment.

Next steps

The report outlined seven key recommendations to tackle street harassment:

  • Force train and bus operators to take tougher action against sexual harassment and block the viewing of pornography on public transport
  • Ban all non-consensual sharing of intimate images
  • Publish a new “Violence Against Women and Girls” strategy
  • Create a public campaign to change attitudes
  • Take an evidence-based approach to addressing the harms of pornography, along the lines of road safety or anti-smoking campaigns
  • Tougher laws to ensure pub landlords take action on sexual harassment – and make local authorities consult women’s groups before licensing strip clubs
  • Make it a legal obligation for universities to have policies outlawing sexual harassment

Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Maria Miller MP, said:

Sexual harassment in public places is a regular experience for many women and girls in the street, in bars and clubs, on buses and trains, at university and online. It is the most common form of violence against women and girls and the damage is far-reaching. And yet most of it goes unreported.

It can make women and girls scared and stressed, avoid certain routes home at night or certain train carriages, wear headphones while out running; women feel the onus is put on them to avoid ‘risky’ situations. It is not acceptable that women have to change their behaviour to avoid sexual harassment. It has a wider effect on society, contributing to a culture in which sexual violence can be normalised or excused. All of this keeps women and girls unequal.

The #MeToo movement shows that we must confront some deeply uncomfortable truths about our society and the attitudes some men hold. Laws alone cannot solve the cultural acceptability of sexual harassment. That is why we have set out a series of practical measures that Government, public transport operators, local authorities and universities should implement immediately. Public places must be made safe for all women and girls.

What you should do if you are harassed in public

Read the Report Summary

 

 

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Filed Under: Diversity Tagged With: female, harassment

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