Pay Parity Leads to a Better Workplace Culture, Finds New Survey

As we know, jobseekers are looking to work for companies that offer a positive workplace culture, or one that aligns with the jobseekers’ beliefs. For companies that offer employees equal pay, it helps boost the overall brand and can result in a better workplace culture.

Nearly 58% of companies report they are reviewing compensation structures to ensure pay parity, according to a new survey from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. This is up from 48% of companies that responded this way in January.
The fact that more companies appear to be making pay parity a priority, to the point where they are reviewing compensation policies, is laudable.
In January, just a few months after the Weinstein allegations broke, Challenger conducted a survey of 150 Human Resources executives in companies of various sizes and industries to gauge how they were dealing with sensitive topics in the workplace. At that time, 27.59% of companies reported that they were paying male and female workers equally and 48.28% reported that they were currently reviewing their compensation structures to ensure pay parity.
Challenger followed up on the survey in June of this year to see if businesses were making changes to reach pay parity and improve treatment. It found that the number of companies who felt they had reached pay parity rose 3% and the number of companies that were reviewing their compensation structures rose nearly 10%.
“These numbers reflect positively on the impact that social movements are having on actual business decisions. #MeToo and #TimesUp seem to have helped eliminate some of the taboos surrounding important issues in the workplace, encouraging businesses to open the doors to major policy and culture changes,” says Andrew Challenger, Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Companies were not the only ones evaluating their situations and choosing to make major changes. Nearly 3% of companies surveyed found that more women had started asking for raises and over 14% of companies saw a more respectful work environment overall following the ubiquity of the #MeToo movement.
While these numbers are not overwhelmingly high, they show the beginnings of a culture shift. As people feel more comfortable in their work environment, they will share more ideas with their team, and strive to be properly compensated for their work.
“Companies have an obligation to make sure that these positive changes continue to happen. They can do this by providing safe outlets for feedback, reevaluating people in management positions to create a positive top-down culture, and continuing to change old policies to make sure pay revolves around talent,” says Challenger.