Repost: Mind the Gap - How One Employer Tackled Pay Equity

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal describes a successful policy implemented at McGill University to close the pay gap between male and female employees. After 13 years and $19 million US dollars, McGill provided equal wages to the 12,000 men and women whom they employ full-time (Murray, 8 July 2014). Their gender-equity program even provided backpay to employees who were considered underpaid according to a new Quebec law. The article explains how the program mathematically determined fair pay:

"The program's goal was to ensure that pay for female-dominated professions was keeping pace with male-dominated ones of equal importance. If administrative assistants were considered as valuable as groundskeepers, the thinking went, the women who jotted down phone messages and kept appointment calendars should be compensated as well as the men working the lawns" (Murray, 8 July 2014).

A similar pay gap between men and women persists in the United States, with some estimates as high as 19% (USDOL as cited in Murray). With federal legislation delayed, states and cities are working to develop their own solutions. In Boston, the Mayor and the Workforce Women's Council lead "100% Talent: The Boston Women's Compact" (www.cityofboston.gov/). Through this initiative, companies such as Suffolk Construction work independently to address equal pay issues.

To learn more about "100% Talent: The Boston Women's Compact," visit http://www.cityofboston.gov/.

To read the full article in The Wall Street Journal, visit http://m.us.wsj.com/.