I will talk about pay equity, but first, I must acknowledge the historic news of the first Black woman confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson!
Equal Pay Day represents the day in the current year that women must work to earn the same amount that their white male counterpart earned the year before. Over a lifetime, a woman stands to lose over $1 million dollars in pay. The numbers are even more grim for women of color.
A corresponding inequity is found in the number of women in leadership roles. Despite training, recruitment drives, and mentoring, most corporate bosses and equity partners in law firms are men.
We have discussed and I have written about ways to combat the gender gap, including increased salary transparency, and encouraging women to negotiate salary and raises. But getting a promotion or a raise requires putting yourself forward. During my career, I have noticed that women frequently undervalue their own skills. Women are less likely than men to ask for a raise, a promotion, or even the bigger office space. Women tend to think – and yes, I was guilty of this, too – that their good work will simply be “noticed” and be rewarded accordingly. Men are more likely to apply for a job even when they do not meet the qualifications. Women, however, are more likely to not apply unless and until they meet all qualifications for a particular position.
Instead of asking candidates to apply for internal positions, perhaps employers should assume qualified candidates are in the running for a promotion unless they specifically opt out. For example, employers are trending towards an opt-out system for their employees’ participation in 401(k) retirement plans, which has resulted in an uptick in 401(k) participation. The opt out approach negates the message “you should not apply unless you meet these qualifications,” which likely discourages many female candidates, and would also benefit the organization by making the candidate screening process more competitive.
It is hard to believe now, but nine years ago, in 2013, I co-chaired the inaugural Equal Pay Day Luncheon to discuss ways to combat the pay gap. Since then, Lawyers Club has put on annual programming to commemorate Equal Pay Day. Join us on Tuesday, April 12 for Lawyers Club’s Gender Equity Committee’s Equal Pay Day Breakfast: How Employers and Individuals Can Take Action on Pay Equity Now, featuring amazing speakers Tifani Bartow of California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and Tarina Mand of South Asian Bar Association. Thank you to our Title Sponsor WealthChoice, and to Fisher Phillips for the venue!
