A holistic approach to closing the gender pay gap

BARCELONA — Figures published earlier this year, in an annual report by the U.K. Department for International Development, highlighted that many global development organizations are still struggling to close the gender pay gap. In a summary of DFID’s gold supply partners, only three of the 13 organizations that provided this information had a gender pay gap of less than 10%. Palladium ranked top of the list with a gender pay gap of just 2%. This isn’t something that has been achieved overnight, said Rosanna Duncan, Palladium's chief diversity officer. The company has been measuring what it calls its “equal pay” gap on an ongoing basis. In 2017, its global equal pay gap was 6% but as high as 21% in some parts of the business. Equal pay is part of a much wider “inclusion jigsaw” at Palladium so there were a number of activities related to diversity that needed to be addressed, she explained. This included looking at the diversity of the strategic leadership team, board membership, and senior-level employees above certain pay grades. Duncan explained how the organization took a “holistic approach” approach to tackle the gender pay gap, and shared tips for prioritizing diversity and inclusion. Give D&I a seat at the top table One of the first steps for Palladium was to create a senior-level diversity and inclusion position. Unlike many organizations, where the D&I lead is a junior or middle management position and consequently limited in their ability to make real change, Duncan sits within the executive team and reports directly to the CEO. Giving the D&I lead a place at the top table and the power to knock on doors is key, she explained. It “sends a signal to the organization that the CEO and the board are taking this stuff seriously and they are putting their resources into that which is necessary,” she continued. This also enables that person to look at every aspect of the business through a diversity and inclusion lens. “I’m involved in lots of things which go beyond what people would consider to be the D&I scope,” Duncan said, because “D&I permeates everything that we do.” Set realistic targets and be transparent Conducting an equal pay audit is not a cure but this information does need to be monitored, Duncan said. What is especially important, she said, is that senior leadership are open and transparent in sharing these results. They should make it clear what actions will be taken, where progress has been made and where there are still shortcomings. Palladium hosts quarterly forums where senior leaders report on progress and share best practices while staff have the opportunity to submit questions anonymously and hold them to account. Key performance indicators around pay equity were introduced in July 2017. The first year goal was to reach a pay gap of less than 10%, and less than 4% the following year. These targets, however, were always talked about in a positive way so that decisions were “real” and not about checking a box. It’s also important to be realistic in setting targets and be consistent in your methodology, Duncan advised. While some organizations focus on the pay gap — calculated by looking at all male and all female employees’ salaries and finding the average for each — Palladium focuses internally on pay equity. Rather than take the global average across the whole company, this approach takes into account the different salary bands and job levels, as well as currencies and markets that the organization works across, Duncan explained. “We take each individual salary band … and then come up with a number that way,” she explained. “It gives us much more robust data and a much easier comparison across our different groups and more actionable insights that we can work with.” Make diversity and inclusion an everybody issue Tackling equal pay shouldn’t only be the job of human resources but rather everyone’s collective responsibility, Duncan said. It’s about starting conversations around diversity and inclusion, and creating openness around this whole issue, she added. A placement program was introduced to allow staff to dedicate time each week to specific D&I initiatives, build capacity on these and then share that knowledge throughout the organization via rotations. There are brown bag lunches and all employees can participate in conversations around these issues on the organization's internal networking page. Diversity and inclusion has also been embedded in the employment cycle — all staff undergo mandatory training on these issues. It is hoped that talent acquisition staff have developed a deeper understanding of the biases that can occur during salary negotiations through discussions, sharing of best practices, regular global calls, and one-on-one coaching discussions. Hiring managers are involved in reviewing job descriptions to ensure these are in line with the salary being offered, and managers are encouraged to consider what “justifiable and quantifiable criteria” is used when it comes to promoting staff. There is a clear message across the entire organization that diversity and inclusion is everybody’s business, Duncan said. And once you break it down and have clear communications in place, people start to understand this.