Jena McGregor writes: Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff is tackling yet another social issue: the gender pay gap. Benioff says he’s methodically combing through the pay of all 16,000 employees of his cloud-based software company to make sure his male and female employees are compensated fairly.
He’s already given some women raises after finding differences in their pay, and he expects to hand out more. Benioff’s move has been called a “radical step” and a “brilliantly simple” way to close the gap. Yet research has also shown that it’s likely quite effective at improving the overall ranks of women at the company, too — perhaps even more so than traditional benefits designed to attract and retain women.
In a study released in November, the consulting firm Mercer asked 164 companies about their benefits and human resources tactics. One of the big findings from its results was that companies with flexible work policies or maternity leave benefits were actually linked with a slower promotion of women into top ranks. The explanation: Such benefits can lead to a check-the-box mentality, in which companies think they’ve done enough to help women along.
Two variables appear to have a positive impact on both current and future gender diversity. One was the involvement of company leaders and men in diversity programs; the other was having a team responsible for pay equity and a process that statistically examines any wage gaps
they discover.
Benioff’s pay initiative is reportedly part of a program called Women’s Surge, designed to help improve the ranks of women at the company, where 85 percent of leaders and 71 percent of the overall workforce are men. The program includes efforts to ensure that women make up at least 30 percent of all meetings and that female candidates are evaluated for new hires and promotions. A team at Salesforce is also using its own analytics software to examine the salary data, determine whether there is a gap
and surface the factors influencing it, according to Business Insider.
Salesforce isn’t alone in methodically reviewing the company’s potential gender pay gap. Mercer’s study found that 52 percent of the 164 companies that responded said they have a dedicated team for analyzing any salary differences between men and women.
Still, the combined punch — having not only a rigorous process for analyzing gender pay data, but an involved CEO who is willing to talk openly about the issue — could end up being very powerful.
Benioff’s public leadership on this from the CEO perch sets the highest bar yet for more companies to reach.
