It’s hard to believe that in 2021, the gender wage gap is still a problem.
According to the Center for American Progress, women still make less than men. A lot less. White women pull in about 80 cents for every dollar a white man does, while Black women make 62 cents per dollar. The stats are even bleaker for Latina women and American Indian women, who make 54 cents and 57 cents per dollar, respectively.
That adds up.
But because conversations around salary are often kept quiet, it’s difficult for individuals to suss out if they’re being paid fairly. Rather than putting the onus on employees to advocate for their own fair pay with little frame of reference, some companies are instituting policies to ensure everyone is paid fairly for the work they do.
Take SpotX, a video advertisement platform based in Broomfield, Colorado. Chief People Officer Jeanne Leasure said that the company is tackling the wage gap through concrete action, using career growth frameworks, internal pay audits, leadership training and wage transparency.
It’s not an easy undertaking, but to Leasure, it’s worth it.
“We believe that it benefits our employees and that it’s the right thing to do,” Leasure said.
What steps have you taken to understand and address any wage gaps that may have existed in your company?
SpotX put several foundational elements in place to address potential wage gaps. First, we recognized that we need to focus on transparency by publishing our compensation philosophy, which is designed to attract, motivate and retain employees who drive success.
To help employees advance in their careers, SpotX developed career growth frameworks for all employees, including market-based compensation ranges for U.S.-based positions, which we are expanding globally.
We follow the progressive measures laid out in the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA) for reasons that extend beyond compliance: it is the cornerstone of our DEI framework. We follow EPEWA measures in all U.S. states where we employ people because we believe that it benefits our employees and that it’s the right thing to do. In 2020, we conducted an internal pay equity audit to uncover any pay disparities that could not be explained by one of the six valid justifications for differences in pay under the EPEWA.
To ensure that managers understand the goals of our compensation philosophy, we conduct regular training sessions on our compensation structure, the EPEWA and SpotX career growth frameworks.
When it comes to determining raises, how do you ensure the process is transparent and unbiased?
At SpotX, our mission, strategies and practices center around our goal of attracting and retaining a diverse workplace, while fostering opportunities for career advancement. We strive to provide compensation that is fair and competitive when employees are fully proficient and meeting expectations. We believe that employees who are consistently performing above expectations and are proficient in the role should be rewarded with a higher base pay.
Our mission, strategies and practices center around our goal of attracting and retaining a diverse workplace.”
We use reporting tools to understand any potential problem areas and ensure that raises and promotions are in line with the guidance we have provided, while taking performance, quality of work and value to the organization into consideration.
In alignment with our company culture, SpotX strives to communicate openly about the goals of the company and the design of our career growth frameworks. We have identified competencies for every role in the organization, which expand beyond just skills, education, potential and experience. We have also created an internal scorecard to track interviews, trends and best practices.
What goals or metrics do you have in place to track your progress toward pay equity and hold your company accountable?
SpotX works hard to administer our compensation plan in a manner that is consistent and free of discrimination. We continuously monitor pay practices to ensure equitable pay for similar work in terms of skill, effort and responsibility. We set specific metrics in place in accordance with our diversity, equity, and inclusion goals to close the wage gap at SpotX, placing an emphasis on moving more women into higher-paying leadership positions.
