The Advisors' Blog

– Liz Dunshee

We’ve blogged about how activist shareholders increasingly want companies to disclose how they analyze & address gender pay gaps – and about mandatory gender pay reporting for companies with a UK presence. But companies also need to prepare for employee questions. A new Pearl Meyer survey shows that 62% of companies are – or expect to be – fielding gender pay gap & gender pay inequity questions from their workforce. Some think that the #MeToo movement has been the “tipping point” to elevate discussions that have been brewing for years.

The survey also shows that employee understanding of pay practices is mediocre at best. Only 8% of respondents believe the quality of their pay communications is “excellent.” Here’s some other key findings:

– In the last two years, almost half of the companies surveyed (48%) have increased compensation communication

– A majority of companies (52%) don’t share information about base salary ranges with all employees

– About two-thirds of managers are trained to have formal compensation conversations with their direct reports, but the majority (70%) of those surveyed believe those conversations are not effective

– Less than a quarter of respondents believe employees can appropriately compare their compensation to colleagues (21%) or compare their compensation to similar positions in other organizations (22%)

– Of the 62% who are or expect to receive questions about gender pay equity, a majority have clear and detailed information ready to share or are currently drafting their responses.