Looking closer at gender pay gaps

The precise nature and causes of gender pay gaps varies between organisations. Greater clarity about gender pay gaps in your organisation will make it much easier to find effective solutions.

• Unequal pay for the same or similar work –does this still exist?
• Do women and men in this organisation occupy the same average position in the salary range (PIR)?  What does this mean?

• If you find a gender difference in Position in Range overall or for some positions, this may be a sign of sex discrimination and may be illegal under the Equal Pay Act. 

• If you find no gender difference in Position in Range, move on to the set of questions on equal pay for work of equal value (pay equity). 

• If you find a gender difference in PIR and can show that the men earn more because they have more years of experience, this can be seen as a reasonable explanation.   However, if you do find a gender difference in position in range that cannot be shown to be the result of longer years of experience by men, you will want to discover why. Two common causes of gender differences in position in ranges are unequal starting rates and unequal rates of pay progression through the ranges.