Despite three in four workers (75%) saying they are aware of gender pay gaps existing in their country, nearly one in five (19%) admit they are not aware. More U.S. workers (21%) are unaware of gender pay gaps than UK workers (17%); among age groups, Millennials (24%) are the most unaware, compared to 16% of Gen Zs and 11% of Baby Boomers. These findings are according to beqom’s The Gender Pay Gap: What Your Employees Really Think report, which assesses enterprise worker perception on progress made in the last year to improve the gender pay gap in the U.S. and UK and aims to uncover employee perceptions about pay and identify areas for improvement.
When it comes to preventing or closing pay gaps, employees believe the U.S. significantly trails the UK, with nearly one-third of UK workers (32%) saying their employer has announced a commitment to solve the pay gap compared to 13% of U.S. workers. Additionally, more UK workers (18%) say their employer has adjusted salaries for female employees compared to U.S. workers (15%) and more UK workers (24%) say their employer recently created an internal mentoring/training system for employees than U.S. workers (19%).
“The Gender Pay Gap: What Your Employees Really Think report reveals that, despite the increased efforts of employers and lawmakers, enterprise employees believe there is still a long way to go to close pay gaps, especially in the U.S.,” said beqom co-founder and CMO Tanya Jansen. “We commissioned the survey to uncover differences between U.S. and UK employee perceptions, and we found that UK employees are consistently more likely to say that initiatives to close pay gaps are working in their country. The gender pay gap is a global issue that deserves every business’s attention, and we hope that this report sparks discussions around how to take effective action.”
Additional findings from the report show that:
Employees want their governments to solve social inequality issues.- When asked which issue they think is most important for their government to prioritize solving, one-third of UK workers (34%) say social inequality, including gender pay issues.
- Three in five (44%) U.S. workers say health insurance reform is most important for government to prioritize, followed by social inequality, including pay gap issues (21%).
Workers in the tech sector don’t think their employers take closing the gender pay gap seriously
- Less than half (49.8%) of Telecommunications and Software/Technology workers believes their employer/manager takes closing the gender pay gap seriously.
- Additionally, Millennials (47%) overall are the least likely to believe their manager/employer takes closing the gender pay gap seriously, compared to Gen Zs (54%) and Baby Boomers (52%).
Pay gap transparency could attract and retain tech workers
- 37% of enterprise Software/Technology workers say they would seek a job at a company that disclosed a lower gender pay gap than the company they currently work for.
- By generation, Gen Zs (70%) are the most likely to say they would be more willing to work at a company that discloses its gender pay gap figure each year over Millennials (60%) or Baby Boomers (62%).
Women are more likely to work for companies that prioritize the gender pay gap
- Women (78%) are more aware of pay gap issues than men (72%).
- Nearly three in four (70%) women say they would be more willing to work at a company that discloses its gender pay gap figures each year.
- U.S. workers (65%) are more likely than UK workers (60%) to say they would be more willing to work at a company that discloses its gender pay gap figures each year.
Employees believe there should be a national law mandating companies to disclose gender pay gap figures
- Nearly three in four (73%) of those surveyed believe there should be a national law mandating companies to disclose gender pay gap figures.
- This figure is slightly higher in the UK (74%) where such a law exists than in the U.S. (72%) where it does not.
- Gen Z workers (84%) are the most likely to believe there should be a national pay gap reporting law. More than four in five women (82%) agree.
- Three in five (61%) said they are more likely to support or advocate for a political candidate or government official that prioritizes pay equity.
To learn more about beqom’s The Gender Pay Gap: What Your Employees Really Think report and view additional findings, download the full report here.
