Pay Fairness Isn’t Just About Teaching Employees to Negotiate

The top reason women around the age of 30 leave organizations isn’t for greater flexibility or improved work-life balance but for higher salaries, according to new data I’ve published. To retain early-career women, leaders should keep the following points in mind:

— Whether injustices are real or perceived, they have the same effect. If women feel unfairly treated, they will seek employment elsewhere. It doesn’t matter what leaders think about their organization’s compensation policy — it’s what employees think about it.

— Transparency is the cornerstone of any effective compensation policy. If feelings of injustice are supported by data, employees want to know that their leaders are working to address pay disparities. In January, President Barack Obama proposed new rules requiring companies to report pay data based on race, gender and ethnicity.

— Fairness isn’t only about equipping the individual to negotiate better — it’s also about equipping the organization. With multiple studies highlighting a gap between men’s and women’s comfort with negotiation, many organizations are providing women with the tools to negotiate their salaries more effectively. Organizations can also help leaders become aware of their unconscious biases about men and women, so they can build a culture where an “ask” is a catalyst for discussion rather than a judgment.

(Christie Hunter Arscott is a principal of the NextGen Women’s Leadership Institute.)