Some of the biggest brands in global business were named and shamed recently, for failing to provide details of their gender pay gap to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Our partners, ETZ, have written a really great guest post for us asking if recruitment agencies can help close the gender pay gap.
47 companies have been called out for not providing data, with Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, Northern Automotive Systems and Typhoo Tea chastised for missing the deadline two years running. All have since submitted their figures.
The EHRC now requires all companies with 250+ employees to publish information on what they pay male and female employees, in a bid to start transparent conversations over wages. However, there is a way to go until we achieve true equality; men still earn 8.6% more than women in the UK on average.
As the middleman between companies and contractors, recruiters play a pivotal role in helping employees to negotiate salary packages. But is there more that agencies could be doing to ensure women get a fair deal? Here are some thought starters…
Ensure an unbiased recruitment process
As impartial as businesses claim to be, including personal details such as gender, name, age and location on a CV can influence their first impressions of recommended candidates. Recruitment opportunities have the opportunity to hold back these details to ensure every applicant is judged purely on their skills and experience.
For an even deeper dive into truly equal recruitment, some recruiters are even investing in tools to eliminate bias from their own shortlisting process. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is entering the market that scans candidate profiles before automatically suggesting the best people for the job. However, agencies should proceed with caution; recent investigation by the Algorithmic Justice League found that solutions used by Amazon, IBM and Microsoft have shown in-built gender bias.
Use client knowledge to negotiate a fair deal
Most recruitment agencies tend to work with the same clients on a long-term basis, as building up knowledge of a company helps to match the right contractors to each new role. As part of this repeat business, recruiters gain vital insight into the typical salary package employees are offered – and if there tends to be a difference between male and female wages.
Becoming a trusted partner gives agency bosses a great opportunity to work proactively with client businesses to address any disparity between men’s and women’s salaries; you can even suggest benchmarks based on the knowledge of what other companies are paying their contractors in equivalent roles.
Sometimes while pay grades may be equal, the opportunity to undertake senior roles may not be accessible to both sexes. Issues with rigid working hours or a lack of part-time opportunities may be leading well-qualified women to take junior roles, for example. Recruiters can use your unique perspective to showcase the benefits that can be yielded with a little flexibility.
Set a good example by finding the funds to pay fairly
True change comes from within, so it’s important that recruitment agencies lead by example and pay all employees an equal wage – regardless of their gender. This way, you can educate clients from a place of experience, demonstrating the positive impact that closing the pay gap has on staff performance, morale and retention.
If there is currently a salary imbalance within your agency that needs to be address, the money to increase female workers’ wages needs to come from somewhere. Many recruitment agencies have freed up funds to pass onto employees by making improvements to the way your business is run.
It might sound counter-intuitive to save money by purchasing something – but investing in operational technology can significantly reduce the cost of running your business back office. Automating key processes like timesheet approval, expense claim submissions and invoicing can ensure you get paid quicker and improve business cash flow.
Not only that, bringing operational technology on board reduces the admin burden placed on staff. This gives them more time to focus on higher value tasks – maximising the return your agency receives for investing in talented people.
Nick Woodward is CEO at ETZ Payments, specialists in back office technology for recruitment agencies.
