#IWD2019: Five ways to reduce the gender pay gap

It is no secret that women continue to be paid less than their male counterparts – for example, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released figures in 2017 (source) showing that the median monthly salary of a typical woman in full-time work was 9 per cent, or $410, less than a man in full-time work.

The figures also revealed jobs in which men earn more than women – specifically in 102 occupations, including specialist medical practitioners (49.7 per cent), policy and planning managers (42%), and managing directors or chief executives (36%).

On the other hand, women holding secretary, clerical supervisor, tax accountant, and registered nurse and other nursing professional positions earned higher than men.

Perhaps the most shocking fact is that by Asian standards, Singapore still ranks as one of the leading countries in the world in terms of gender parity.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2018, Singapore comes in 24th out of 149 countries for economic opportunity and participation. Meanwhile, China (86th), India (142nd), Japan (117th) and Korea (124th) all trail behind.

Yet, according to the World Economic Forum, the economic gap is the only gap that has shrunk, reducing by less than 1% over the previous year’s results, and by approximately 2.5% since 2006.

Though the results are marginal, simple organisational and mindset changes in the recruitment process could help businesses close the gender pay gap even more.

1. Don’t ask the salary history question

Perhaps the greatest step, and also the simplest, is to get rid of the salary history question entirely.

Many organisations and recruiters will ask candidates for their salary history which, if used to benchmark the pay that will be offered, naturally poses issues as it only perpetuates pre-existing wage gaps.

To clarify, this is different from ‘salary requirement’, which is the pay a candidate expects from a job.

Asking for candidates’ previous salary is not in their best interest, regardless of whether it was low or high, and automatically puts them in an awkward position of having to decide what they want to reveal.

It may also give them the wrong impression about your approach to talent acquisition.

2. Price the job, not the person

Set a salary range for the position and stick to it. Knowing salary ranges for different jobs allows not only women, but all employees for that matter, to receive the needed information in order to be paid fairly and equally.

This also levels the playing field both from a gender and age perspective, so that employers can focus on position-related criteria such as candidate experience, skills and cultural fit

3. Address unconscious bias

Without realising it, we sometimes think that some roles and sectors are often considered to be more suited to males than females, such as engineering, mechanics, and science – biases that might have been ingrained in us from a young age.

A change in societal norms starts with a change in individual mindset. That means tackling unconscious bias and reframing normative representations of gender.

4. Don’t forget about the males

Experts say that the gender wage gap grows even more after women give birth and go on maternity leave. That said, it’s great to see that more companies are taking measures to counter this issue.

For example, Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has made the change to give fathers four weeks of paid paternity leave, double the duration of such leave funded by the Singapore Government.

Extended and mandated paternity leave is something you can do easily with relatively little financial burden on your company, so why not empower fathers to take a more active role at home, and challenge that unconscious bias that males should be the primary breadwinners at the same time?

5. Be transparent

Be transparent about how pay is determined within your organisation – whether it’s through an industry benchmark or if there are specific qualifications that would make the candidate stand out from others.

This will empower candidates and existing employees to measure themselves against standardised and clearly spelt-out expectations for each grade.

Gender parity will take some time yet to come to fruition, and recruiters and employers cannot bear the responsibility alone – it will take collaborative effort from all corners of society to move the needle.

International Women’s Day takes place every year on March 8. This year’s theme is #BalanceForBetter, because a gender-balanced world is a better world – for both organisations and individuals alike.

Check out the rest of our #IWD2019 coverage on our dedicated IWD tag!