Recruitment Agents for Change - Gender Salary Survey
Last month, female job-hunters were no doubt shocked to learn that pay equality in the UK could still be 57 years away. The 2010 National Management Salary Survey, published by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), revealed that if salaries continue to increase at current rates male and female managers won’t be paid the same salary for the same job until 2067. As people with an unparalleled insight into the different range of salaries available for different jobs and at different levels, recruitment consultants are in a unique position to challenge this issue, with the best interests of their clients in mind.
The study analysed salary data from more than 40,000 individuals in 197 organisations and revealed that male managers are paid on average £10,031 more than their female counterparts. This means that although women’s salaries have increased by 2.8 per cent over the last 12 months, compared to 2.3 per cent for men, women are still lagging behind in the pay stakes.
The problem exists from junior level upwards, with female junior executives earning around £1,000 less than men doing the same job. At senior levels, male salaries outstrip those of females by a staggering 24 per cent, leaving female managers facing an uphill battle against unequal pay for the duration of their careers.
So, what can recruitment consultants do about this, and why should they be the ones to take action?
In order to select the best candidates to put forward for roles and organisations, recruiters need a wide pool of talent to choose from. If women perceive that particular jobs or employers offer pay packages that continually favour men, they simply won’t bother to apply. Obviously, this will significantly limit the applicants recruiters can pick from and will mean organisations don’t necessarily end up with the best available candidate for the job. In addition, it means recruiters aren’t in a position to put the best people forward and inhibits their ability to best service their clients.
There is work to be done, therefore, to raise awareness among clients of the importance and benefits of equal pay if they want the best person for the job. There is a bigger task though – bringing about transparency. In the UK, we are historically reluctant to discuss things like what we’re paid. British politeness forbids such a thing. The fact that organisations and individuals aren’t open about salary levels, however, is one of the big challenges to equal pay, and a challenge those in recruitment, due to the pay information they are privy to, are in a position to help address.
One of the main problems is that women simply don’t know how much their male counterparts are being paid and, therefore, can’t tell when they’re getting a bad deal. By thinking smartly about the salaries commanded by certain roles in certain industries, recruiters can arm their female candidates with the ammunition they need to ensure they are getting the same deal as a man picked for the role would have been.
There is no need for recruitment professionals to go it alone though. They can also empower job seekers to take responsibility for negotiating remuneration packages that are fair and appropriate for the jobs they are applying for. To aid them in this, recruiters can point female applicants (and employers) to CMI’s Ambitious Women toolkit at www.managers.org.uk/glassceiling. This contains practical advice and information for female managers on issues such as how to ask for a pay rise and challenge unequal pay, skills development and returning to work after maternity leave.
As well as looking at salary levels, our survey also looked at labour turnover over the past year, revealing movements that could imply women are becoming increasingly disgruntled with the pay issue. Resignations are on the increase, particularly at the top levels – a whopping 7.7 per cent of female directors resigned over the last 12 months.
While more job seekers might mean more business for recruiters at first glance, an increase in people leaving jobs voluntarily also means disgruntled employers and candidates unhappy that they’ve been placed in a role that didn’t suit. Food for thought for recruiters – how can they help ensure that the employers they work with are keeping good people when they find them? Equal pay for equal work is certainly a factor. Tackling gender discrimination isn’t just advantageous in attracting quality new recruits, it’s also about holding on to your best people.
We’re all in agreement that women and men with the same skills and experience doing the same job should be paid the same amount for doing so. How to go about making this happen, however, when legislation clearly isn’t working, is another issue. As the people with the ear of both employers and female job candidates, we need to see recruiters play their part in bringing about change.
For more information and practical advice on how to challenge unequal pay, visit www.managers.org.uk/glassceiling
