The gender pay gap is indicative of much wider inequality at work, says Nahla Khaddage Bou-Diab, culture and leadership expert, CEO of AM Bank and chairman and general manager of Oneness Mgmt. She welcomes efforts to close the gap with gender pay reporting, but argues that government intervention, and more culture data reporting, will be required to address this insidious problem.
In the modern working world, equity and parity are, unfortunately, not guaranteed.
Women, when up against their male counterparts, are discounted – and aren’t afforded the same opportunities or awards. We need to do more to close this gap once and for all.
But fixing the gender pay gap, despite how it might seem, is not the final hurdle. Of course, the pay gap is one of the many symptoms of inequity, but fixing this one particular symptom will not solve the problem. You see, inside mega corporates, the very cultures of these organisations harm female talent. They have been built by men for men – and in these macho environments, women are left with an almost impossible mountain to climb.
Culture front and centre
That’s why it’s on governments to do more. Mandating organisations to disclose their gender pay statistics doesn’t quite cut it; we need more reporting mechanisms in place. I believe that a company’s culture is the best place to start looking.
Why? Because putting culture front-and-centre of your reporting parameters will determine if your firm embraces gender diversity – or prevents it entirely. It’s the most effective way to identify the root cause of gender inequality in the workplace.
Growing gender pay gap
In March this year, the gender pay gap in the UK widened to 35 percent, according to staffing industry analysts. And that’s in a world where DEI initiatives are at their peak, and feminism – as it should be – has been embraced.
But it’s not the only issue. Earlier this year, the UK government’s Sexism in the City report retold some unfortunate truths. Harassment, bullying, and misconduct are still very much present in the City of London – and women take the brunt of this harm.
The report’s findings did kick some change into action. Following its publication, the Financial Conduct Authority investigated how certain companies – especially in financial services – deal with such awful behaviour within their organisations.
Disparities in pay and harmful environments
But, again, this isn’t enough – FCA finger wags will not ignite long-term change. At their core, disparities in pay and harmful working environments are all symptomatic of a wider cultural problem. The UK government has to identify these triggers – and nudge these organisations to take another look and change their cultures.
If they don’t, well, it’s a foregone conclusion. The government will have to accept it’s been a bystander to harm, and that it didn’t do what it could to level the gender gap. Quick action is needed.
Currently, the UK requires all organisations with over 250 employees to disclose data around gender pay in their workplace. But that data still leaves gaps – and doesn’t wholly reflect the real-life experience of the working woman.
It doesn’t reflect the number of promotions women receive versus the number male employees receive. It doesn’t reflect the turnover rate for female staff in executive and c-suite roles. It doesn’t reflect the usage of in-house mental health services by female workers. All of these paint a much more vivid picture for the experience of the working woman – and could provide a jump off point to hold employers accountable.
From there on, employers will be, simply by virtue of the variety of the data, pushed into change. They’ll have to cater their environments more towards women, put more effort into realising the achievements of their female staff, and completely change how their internal environments function.
Embracing these new metrics won’t just serve women – but the whole organisation. Female leadership is a critical success factor in managing today’s global pressures. An environment that is characterised by collaboration, innovation, and agility can’t yield results from an environment that does not include women leadership.
Hold new government to account
It’s been a whirlwind of a few weeks for the UK. After six weeks of solid campaigns, the Labour party was elected into government – leading Rachel Reeves to take the title of the UK’s first-ever female chancellor.
Given her position and her incredibly difficult journey to get there, Reeves should be an inspiration to all. But I want to hold her to account here – and, by that, her pledge to close the gender pay gap.
During her tenure, Reeves wants to ensure large organisations publish and action a roadmap to close the gender pay gap. And while I admire her for this, more is needed.
The cultures within the city – or any major corporate hub, for that matter – are not suitable for the working woman. And that’s what needs to change; after all, compensation packages only really scratch the surface.
It’s not about increasing holiday allowances, it’s not about holding networking breakfasts, and it’s certainly not about weird and wacky ‘cultural’ perks. Culture is all about how an organisation functions – and how the people within it operate. And while the issues for working women have now been made known, it’s on everyone involved – leadership, regulators, and policymakers – to push change to completion.
Let’s nudge employers to right their cultural wrongs. And let’s give working women the opportunities and the environments they have always deserved.
