At a glance
As told to Susan Muldowney
Question: “A payroll audit has revealed a major gender pay gap at middle management level — between managers with similar responsibilities. How best do we remedy this situation, and should we be open and transparent about the rectification reason?”
Answer: Pay differentials between men and women in comparable jobs are typically the result of a historical precedent dating back to Victorian or Edwardian times, when the social norm was that men were the primary breadwinners and women were principally homemakers.
Today, this is no longer the case, and there is no ethical justification for accepting these differences.
Furthermore, equal pay — where employees are paid the same for performing the same work, or work of equal or comparable value — is a legal requirement in many countries. A pay audit can help uncover gender disparities within organisations.
In a work situation, a case for differential treatment between individuals can be made because of ability, experience and/or effort. “Ability” in this context includes both intellect and other measurable kinds of intelligence (for example, emotional intelligence). In some manual jobs, physical ability may also be a legitimate source of differential treatment.
Only physical prowess would perhaps be a possible reason for treating men and women differently because of their sex. Even then, it should not automatically be assumed — some women are stronger than some men — and differential pay by virtue of physical difference is disputed by some commentators. Recent controversies about differential pay between men and women in sports such as cricket and soccer are examples of this.
In short, there is no good ethical reason for continuing to accept gender pay differences in office work for people of equivalent skills and experience.
You may need to look deeper into your data to understand the factors that may be driving a difference in pay between managers of comparable responsibilities and take steps to address these. Some organisations allocate an annual budget for this purpose.
However, setting aside financial and practical conditions, the key ethical principle (as well as the correct position in law in many countries) is that any such differences should be disclosed and corrected as quickly as possible.
