Equal Pay Day this year is March 31, the day that marks the average amount of additional time it takes for a woman to earn what her male counterpart earned in 12 months in the previous year. But commemorating Equal Pay Day has taken a different light this year in the shadow of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
To uncover Americans’ perceptions around what they think companies should prioritize most during the growing pandemic as it relates to total compensation and in light of Equal Pay Day, we surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults to ask: “When it comes to total compensation, which of the following do you think companies should prioritize most during the COVID-19 pandemic?”
Among those who had a preference, equal pay was the topic of most concern; nearly one in four (23%) Americans chose equal pay. Only one in 10 (10%) think companies should prioritize employee bonuses, and few said they think companies should prioritize non-cash rewards (3%) or diversifying the C-suite/Board room (2%).
However, nearly two-thirds (62%) answered that they do not know what companies should prioritize most during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among demographic groups, more women (25%) think companies should prioritize equal pay than men (21%). More Gen Zs and Millennials (25%) think companies should prioritize equal pay than Baby Boomers (22%).
Millennials (13%) are the most likely to think companies should prioritize employee bonuses, compared to Gen Zs (10%) and Baby Boomers (9%).
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More men (4%) think companies should prioritize non-cash rewards than women (1%). Gen Zs do not think companies should prioritize non-cash rewards at all, compared to Millennials (3%) and Baby Boomers (3%).
An extremely low number of men (3%) and women (1%) think companies should prioritize diversifying the C-Suite. Millennials think companies should prioritize diversifying the C-suite the least, compares to Gen Zs (4%) and Baby Boomers (3%).
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