Compelling tactics for communicating a positive gender pay gap story
1. Do understand what you are doing. In previous years, we have seen many companies reporting inaccurate or mathematically impossible results. As well as being publicly embarrassing for your company, inaccurate results suggest a lack of commitment to gender equality, which is disheartening for both present and future employees.
2. Don’t leave it till the last minute. At our Pay Trends Roadshows in January this year, a quick straw poll revealed that the majority of attendees had completed their year two reporting, but were holding off on publication until the deadline was nearer. Why? Presumably in a bid to avoid negative PR – but dragging your feet reflects poorly on your organisation and suggests you see it merely as a box-ticking exercise.
3. Do craft a good narrative. The narrative becomes more important each year, due to the comparison to previous years’ figures. By developing a strong narrative, which acknowledges the gap and provides context, you can articulate your purpose, values and strategy, as well as highlight any improvements you have made already, and any future plans for improving inclusion and diversity.
4. Do dig into your results. ‘Deep dive’ analysis can identify weak spots in pay practice that are driving your underlying issues. Undertaking this analysis means you can fully understand any long-term systemic problems with gender, and the way that men and women are paid. This also enables you to communicate the complexity which sits behind your results, giving a full and fair picture of pay at your organisation.
5. Do talk to your internal communications/marketing teams. If you’re struggling to put together a difficult or complex message on gender pay, pick up the phone to your in-house comms team. Marketeers are trained to pick out and communicate benefits rather than features, and are an excellent resource when developing messaging.
6. Do present your results relative to last year – even if they’re worse. Unfortunately some organisations will see a stall or even increase in their gender pay gap. This could be down to apathy – but more likely it’s more complicated than that. Initiatives to improve the gap, such as increasing your intake of women at entry-level, can drive a negative impact in results in the short term. Likewise, changes at executive level can unduly tip the scales – if a senior woman leaves and is replaced with a male colleague, you may see a significant knock-on in your results.
7. Do frame things within a long-term context. Balancing out the gender pay gap is a marathon not a sprint. Fluctuations in your results in the short-term are not the end of the world, as long as you have evidence-based initiatives in place to support a targeted plan.
8. Do highlight successes and work taken on to address equality in the workplace. Give details on work you’ve already done or are doing around inclusion and diversity, and how it ties in with your supporting strategy. For example, a spotlight on recruitment activity to redress the balance of male to female executives.
9. Don’t leave things unexplained. Even a nose dive in results needs explanation without excuses. Be honest – make a comparison to last year, explaining and contextualising any stall or increase in the gap. Tackling difficult results head on is much better than trying to brush them under the carpet and reflects better on your reputation as an employer.
10. Don’t set unrealistic targets. With the best will in the world, eliminating the gender pay gap entirely is a huge challenge. Although gender pay reporting has rightly shone a spotlight on individual employers, it’s a far wider issue than direct discrimination within organisations – it is a societal problem and one which nearly all companies need to face. Your goals should be ambitious, but achievable.
The author is Gemma Bullivant, client director at Innecto.
This article is provided by Innecto.
In partnership with Innecto Reward Consulting
We have more than 20 years' experience in getting employers' pay and reward working harder for them.
