tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post9203849360274060833..comments2024-03-25T12:55:40.911+00:00Comments on Caron's Musings: Equal Pay Day - working women can now go home for the rest of the yearAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04988201531739344840noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34128264.post-73540934155093942322010-11-02T18:26:37.879+00:002010-11-02T18:26:37.879+00:00I have read the Fawcett Societies briefing on Equa...I have read the Fawcett Societies briefing on Equal Pay Day and it is, frankly, more than a little slippery with its argument.<br /><br />There needs to be a clear separation of the various issues. The differing rates of pay for men and women doing 'exactly' the same job (which of course is totally wrong) from the wider issue of the totality of working women in the UK earning earning 16.5% less than the totality of working men in the UK.<br /><br />It is telling that of the demands made by the Fawcett Society only one is related to an examination of pay. <br /><br />What would a gender pay audit reveal though - what would be the recommendations to close any gap? If the gap was due to too few women at the top of the organisation then is the solution just to recruit more female directors? Does that do anything for the lower paid women in the organisation? If the pay gap was because to many women were at the bottom of the organisation then a potential solution is just to recruit more men into the lower paid jobs. <br /><br />What about throwing age into the mix? If we take a snapshot of the workforce of say the 18-30 year olds then the pay gap actually favours women. Perhaps we could link that the high suicide rate of men in that age group? After the ages 30-32 then the pay gap flips the other way. <br /><br />Pay is not about sex. Pay is about experience, ability and negotiation. Experience is easily measurable as is ability. One of the problems about experience though is that some people get pay rises based on time-served in a job. Take a year out to have a child and thus there is a year of direct experience missing, thus no pay increment. The third point is also important in workplaces that operate with a level of internal competition (like banks, PR firms and even high-end hairdressers). The deal making process for those jobs is not one that is governed by comparing job to job but something far less tangible.Douglas McLellanhttp://www.douglasmclellan.netnoreply@blogger.com