How can HR help close the gender pay gap?
A recent study revealed that 54% of female employees in Singapore feel underpaid, compared with only 40% of their male counterparts.
It also found that two in three (63%) of men secured additional salary with their current employer during the recruitment process.
As for women, only 43% tend to negotiate additional salary during hiring, found Robert Half.
READ MORE: Study backs controversial solution for gender pay gap
The gender pay gap has long been debated. While some say it all boils down to basic negotiation skills, one industry expert told HRD there’s more to this “systemic” issue. She gives HR leaders tips on how to make a difference on the persistent gap.
It’s not in the best interest of the candidate, regardless of whether their previous salary was low or high, and automatically puts them in an awkward position of having to decide what they want to reveal. It may also give them the wrong impression about your approach to talent acquisition.
Set a salary range for the position and stick to it – this levels the playing field both from a gender and age perspective, so that employers can focus on position-related criteria such as candidate experience, skills and cultural fit.
It’s fair that employers want to ensure a candidate is affordable before investing additional time and resources into the hiring process, so tweak the question to salary expectations, where the candidate can set the benchmark.
This will empower candidates and existing employees to measure themselves against expectations for each grade.
