Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Equality, diversity and inclusionEqual payOpinion

Another week and still more furrows to plough

by Personnel Today 19 Oct 2004
by Personnel Today 19 Oct 2004










HR Hartley
12.00 am  19 Oct 04



Another week and still more furrows to plough

This week it’s gender pay gaps and age diversity. My managing director wants to know where we stand against the benchmark average. Bench-press more like.

Still, it’s something for our ‘comps and bens’ specialist to get busy with. She’s benchmarked our workforce for everything bar incidence of dentures among the over-50s, so this will be a doddle for her. We’ll come out as within the median range for our industry, of course. We always do.

But the fact is that our female staff do earn less than the men. They start on more-or-less the same package, but once they’re into middle-age, most are trailing behind. The main reason is, as everyone in HR knows, continuity of service.

For, even in an age of rising childlessness, many of our female staff leave to have children and the majority don’t return to full-time work. Also, churn among female staff is higher. Meanwhile, their male counterparts get annual pay rises and the incompetent are promoted.

What my managing director will do about this gap is unclear, but pay cuts for all males bar those on the board would be his favoured option.

My option would be to lower pay for board members bar those with HR in their job titles.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

My other solution – you might call it the final one – is to have a word with our ‘comps and bens’ expert about making benchmarking more of a moveable feast. A few judicious moves of the goalposts should ensure that we’re always in the best quartile on every measure.

Job done, I’d say.

Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Getting rail back on track
next post
Putting a value on evaluation

You may also like

Living wage pushes up spring pay settlements

2 Jul 2025

Ethnicity and disability pay gaps: Ready to report?...

1 Jul 2025

One in eight senior NHS managers from black...

1 Jul 2025

Co-op equal pay claims move onto next stage

30 Jun 2025

Progressive DEI policy is a red line for...

27 Jun 2025

Graduate pay versus the living wage: an HR...

25 Jun 2025

BBC Breakfast bullying and misconduct allegations under investigation

20 Jun 2025

Finance professionals expect less emphasis on ESG and...

18 Jun 2025

Lack of role models a ‘barrier’ for people...

17 Jun 2025

Pride 2025: why corporate allyship still matters

16 Jun 2025

  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+