Bridging the Gender Pay Gap: Strategies for Small Businesses

Season 4: Episode 16

Discover actionable strategies for closing the gender pay gap in small businesses. To tackle this issue, we emphasise the importance of pay equity and transparency, unconscious bias, and adopting structured interviews and involving diverse perspectives in hiring decisions.

Transcript

Episode summary

  • Gender pay gap and ways to overcome it in small businesses. 0:00
  • Karen Kirton discusses the gender pay gap in Australia, highlighting stagnant progress and factors contributing to the gap.
  • Gender equality in the workplace. 2:09
  • Lachy Gray discusses the importance of addressing gender bias in the workplace, citing it as a reflection of societal issues and a challenge for businesses of all sizes.
  • Gray clarifies the difference between equal pay and gender pay gap, highlighting the legal requirement for equal pay since the 1960s and the broader context of gender pay across organizations.
  • Lachy Gray discusses gender diversity and flexibility in the workplace.
  • Pay equity and transparency in the workplace. 7:53
  • Karen Kirton highlights the importance of having a remuneration policy in place to address pay equity and retention issues.
  • Workday's findings suggest that people quit when they can't discuss their pay, emphasizing the need for a transparent and documented process.
  • Karen Kirton suggests using the WGA website for educative resources on pay parity and remuneration policies, especially for smaller businesses.
  • Lachy Gray agrees that managing expectations is key, citing the importance of advertising salary ranges or salary information upfront in job listings.
  • Lachy Gray and Karen Kirton discuss the taboo nature of pay transparency in business, with Lachy advocating for greater visibility and fairness in the compensation process.
  • Pay transparency and unconscious bias in the workplace. 15:11
  • Lachy Gray proposes pay transparency to address perceived inequity, but feedback from employees raises concerns about resentment and potential negative impact on wages.
  • Company implements clear role definitions and salary review processes instead, addressing employee concerns while still promoting transparency.
  • Karen Kirton discusses the challenges of implementing fair compensation practices in small businesses, citing the need to overcome unconscious bias and cultural norms.
  • Kirton recommends a simple exercise to identify and address personal biases, involving writing down five "I am" statements and considering how they may impact others.
  • Self-awareness, bias, and privilege in hiring. 21:36
  • Karen Kirton reflects on her own biases and how they may impact her business, such as preferring to work with other women in her industry.
  • Karen considers how her self-perception may change depending on the context, such as being a busy parent during school holidays.
  • Lachy Gray recognizes his own privilege as a white, male, and Caucasian person, and acknowledges the bias towards people like him in society.
  • Lachy and Karen discuss the importance of recognizing and overcoming biases in hiring processes, such as the tendency to favor people who are similar to us.
  • Hiring biases and structured interviews. 28:28
  • Lachy Gray and Karen Kirton discuss the importance of using a structured interview process to avoid bias and ensure fairness in hiring decisions.
  • They explain that a structured interview process involves using the same interview script for each candidate and rating them based on objective criteria, rather than relying on subjective impressions.
  • Karen Kirton discusses using debriefing with a team member to check for biases in hiring decisions, providing examples of both positive and negative biases.
  • Karen Kirton shares a personal experience of struggling to understand a candidate with a thick accent, raising concerns about potential negative bias in the hiring process.
  • Gender pay gap, hiring practices, and diversity in the workplace. 34:18
  • Karen Kirton and Lachy Gray discuss the challenges of hiring diverse candidates, including unconscious bias and navigating complex situations.
  • They emphasize the importance of involving everyone in the decision-making process and considering multiple perspectives to ensure fairness and equity in hiring practices.
  • Karen Kirton and Lachy Gray discuss the importance of transparency in HR processes, particularly in relation to pay equity.
  • Lachy Gray plans to spend time checking out a website and providing feedback on its name, as they believe it needs a rebrand.

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