Posts Tagged ‘wage gap’
Asking for Results
Women could beat the gender gap if they would just speak up and ask for promotions and better compensation, right?
As it turns out, asking isn’t enough.
A few weeks ago Catalyst released the fourth report in our longitudinal study following the career paths of women and men MBAs around the world. The Myth of the Ideal Worker revealed that when it comes to negotiating for increased compensation or a higher position, women do ask. But even when women ask, the pay gap between women and men doesn’t close.
According to the study, women who ask by making their accomplishments known are more likely to achieve an increase in compensation or a promotion. But do we perceive the women who step up and ask as “pushy”?
Worse, are “nice” Canadian women reluctant to point to their achievements because they don’t want to be seen (or feel) as though they’re bragging?
Perhaps the solution is to increase active sponsorship of talented women across all industries in Canada. That way, the onus isn’t only on talented women to increase their visibility—any more than it is on equally talented men. Someone else would also be highlighting their achievements for them, advocating for them at decision-making tables, and encouraging them to speak up effectively on their own behalf.
So today, I’m asking!
I’m asking all of you in corporate Canada – women and men – to take the findings from our latest report and examine how your most talented employees are compensated and advanced. I’m asking you to seek out any gender biases in your talent management systems – especially those not readily apparent. I’m asking you to voice your support for the talented women in your workforce by making their achievements visible and pushing for their advancement when it counts.
Imagine the energy and innovation we can achieve by unleashing the full potential of an increasingly talented Canadian workforce. Let’s all ask what we can do to close the gap.
Time’s Up for “Give it Time”
I’ve been reading, as I’m sure you have, the breathless media coverage about today’s well-paid young women. You know, the one who makes more than her boyfriend. These reports are enthusiastic, optimistic—and wrong.
The young woman may make more money than her boyfriend, but the chances are that she makes less, and is in a lower position within her company, than the men she graduated with. Catalyst research, which followed 4,000-plus M.B.A. graduates from top schools around the world, shows a far less rosy picture.
Women started their careers in lower levels than their male counterparts. And they earned approximately $4,600 less per year than the men they had graduated with, even accounting for the fact that they were starting in lower levels.
The initial inequity persists and the pay gap grows throughout their careers. And who are the losers? The women who don’t get the opportunity to achieve their full potential, and earn accordingly, of course.
But, equally seriously, Canadian businesses and the Canadian economy also suffer from the failure to put all our talent to work.
Progressive business leaders, faced with research like Catalyst’s Pipeline’s Broken Promise, question the myth that time and education would sort out the gender inequities. We’ve given it time. Women now earn over half of university degrees in Canada, and make up almost half the workforce.
But the representation of women in executive ranks is not keeping up with women’s educational achievements or presence in the workplace. And women with university degrees still earn only 63 cents for every dollar earned by men.
Business leaders know they can’t put faith in the one-off studies that put women suddenly at the top of the pay heap. And they don’t share the excitement of some media reports about research that show a leisurely climb to equity in 30 years.
They know we can’t afford to wait because they know the competition—across the street or around the globe—is paying and promoting its best talent, regardless of gender.
That’s why they’re introducing mentoring programs for employees, and changing corporate policies that disadvantage women.
Let’s celebrate our progress. But let’s understand that we still need to overcome some tough barriers. And let’s do it before today’s young women attend their own retirement parties.
Champions for Change
If a single theme predominated the inaugural dinner of The Catalyst Canada Honours last night, it was change.
Scotiabank President and CEO Rick Waugh, who is also Chair of Catalyst Canada Advisory Board identified the most important change over the past ten years in the business world as “the cultural shift that has begun in Canadian business and in our broader society.”
Champion Sylvia Chrominska spoke of the cultural shift at Scotiabank since she started in 1979, as more women joined the senior ranks, and both women and men began to recognize the business benefits of diversity at the very top.
TD Bank Financial Group’s Ed Clark—another champion—spoke of the journey for answers to the increasingly complex issues of diversity, and the importance of commitment from everyone in the organization.
Champion Colleen Sidford’s leadership as Vice-President of Ontario Power Generation has shifted attitudes and created opportunities for women in the traditionally male nuclear industry.
In preparing my own notes, I also thought back to one of my earliest disillusionments: the realization in my final year of high school that a university education would likely allow me to earn only 69.6 cents for every dollar in the pay packet of my male colleagues.
Time for introspection. Some of it, not pretty.
I thought about the first Catalyst research project in Canada. In 1997, Canadian CEOs believed that women in senior management would jump from 13% to 24% by 2002. Well, by 2002, senior management ranks were 14% women. In 2008, the percentage had reached 16.9%. In fact, if we continue at the current rate of change, we won’t see that 24% prediction until 2022!
And the pay gap that shocked me so much in 1983? In 2008, women earned 68.3 cents to every dollar earned by our male colleagues!
So what is this cultural shift that everyone is seeing? I believe we’ve seen a fundamental shift in the conversation, a shift that gives me hope that things are about to change.
Back in 1983, I believed that women should earn as much as men because it was fair. Fairness was the basis of the equality rights section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Fairness was the foundation of the Employment Equity Act of 1985.
Businesses complied with the legislation, but compliance alone does not create equity or an inclusive workplace. Today, CEOs like Rick Waugh, Ed Clark, and Bill Downe know that their businesses are stronger, more competitive, and ultimately more profitable because their senior ranks reflect the Canadian population in all its diversity. They know that women bring a valuable perspective to their senior tables.
Most importantly, they know that Canadian companies and the Canadian economy can no longer afford to ignore the talents, skills and commitment of 50% of the population – not to mention those who are outpacing men in higher education degrees.
What I see is both a conversion and a conversation that has shifted from fairness to business case. The participants in the conversation are no longer only women standing outside the senior management door. The conversation—and the passionate advocacy—has moved through that door, and men have become partners in the conversation.
And the question is no longer “Why?” but “How?” and “How quickly?”
I take considerable pride that Catalyst Canada has lived up to our name over the past ten years. Our partnership with business has provided a venue for the conversation. Our research has informed business programs to support the advancement of women, such as Sylvia’s work at Scotiabank, Colleen’s emPOWERed women program at OPG, and Ed’s Women in Leadership initiatives.
The Catalyst Canada Honours dinner marked our tenth anniversary. Our Champions—Ed Clark, Sylvia Chrominska, and Colleen Sidford—are leading the way. And, if the enthusiasm of the sell-out crowd of over 500 members and friends is any measure, their advocacy is gaining supporters in all sectors and businesses across Canada.
Let the conversation continue! Bring on the change!
C-This, Canada!
C-This, Canada! is a chance for me to highlight recent articles, podcasts, and videos about women and work that have struck me as interesting, informative, or thought provoking. I hope you’ll use the comments section to let me know about any that I’ve missed—or give your feedback on any that I’ve listed.
First, some media reaction to the report that, despite educational success, Canadian women still earn 63 cents for each of their male counterparts’ dollars:
Canada lags on pay equity
September 8, 2010—Canadian women outperform men at all levels of education, but still make significantly less money in the workplace. Canada’s gender-wage gap is much wider than that of most developed countries, according to a new report from the Council of Ministers of Education.
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/09/08/15282501.html
Women at work: still behind on the bottom line
September 10, 2010—Women in Canada earn less than two-thirds of what men do, a ratio that has scarcely budged in more than a decade and is well below that of other developed countries.
And some intergenerational thoughts on feminism:
The ladies who lambaste
September 3, 2010—With time on their side, and feminism’s wind at their back, older Canadian women are taking action on issues from AIDS to Palestinian peace.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-ladies-who-lambaste/article1696077/
Outraged moms, trashy daughters
August 10, 2010—Young women think that feminism is old-fashioned. Is today’s “Girl Power” taking us backwards, or is it the new expression of women’s empowerment?
http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/08/10/outraged-moms-trashy-daughters/
“Third wave” of feminism urged by prominent Canadian women
September 9, 2010—Equality gap dominates Governor-General’s conference, following suffragettes and push to enshrine women’s rights I law, new focus must be….
And, finally, new Canadian research suggests that women are getting caught in the middle:
Promotion bottleneck blocks women, minorities, study finds
September 21, 2010—Women and visible minorities lag behind white men because of a promotion bottleneck in middle management, a Canadian study tracking advancement says.
Glass ceilings, sticky floors, and the bottleneck in the middle
According to Ivey Professor Alison Konrad, women are crashing through the glass ceilings—but only if they can get through the bottleneck in the middle.
http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/publications/impact/default.htm
63/100: Not Good Enough!
Earlier this week, parents across Canada watched their kids go off to school, college and university. Yesterday, the Canadian Education Statistics Council told us that the bright little girl we’re sending off to school is likely to attain a higher level of education than the boy in the next desk—but she’ll earn 63 cents for every dollar he makes.
After years of struggle for equal opportunity in the workplace, this is disappointing. But it’s not a surprise.
It supports—yet again—Catalyst research that female graduates of top M.B.A. schools enter the workforce at lower levels than their male colleagues, and earn $4,600 less. Their promotions are slower, and less lucrative. So the initial gap continues and grows, year after weary year.
Women continue to be underrepresented at senior levels of business, despite their educational achievements and despite the influence of women in the economy. For the individual woman, that is reflected in less personal income and reduced career satisfaction.
Businesses and the national economy are the biggest losers. They’re losing the opportunity represented by 50 percent of the talent pool, brain power, and capacity for innovation and productivity. And they can’t afford to continue losing that contribution.
As young women gained strength in business and professional schools, it seemed that equal access to the workplace would lead to equity in the workplace. Now, we understand that workplace culture has to change—or those little girls who started school last week will be fighting their grandmothers’ battles, all over again.
Isn’t it time to fix it?
Our Websites
RSS
Subscribe to Can Con
