Google released the results of an internal audit that concluded that male employees were underpaid in relation to their female colleagues. Don’t worry because they paid the male employees the difference so everyone was all even-steven. That sound you heard was me rolling my eyes like a middle-schooler with a bad attitude. Bravo, Google, for blazing the trail for fairness. I’m just curious if you ever conducted an audit in previous years where women were the losers in the pay category and how you made up for that delta? Because I don’t remember any stories in the media about that audit.
And the fact that male workers being underpaid by one company (a big one for sure, but just one) is newsworthy, while the fact that the other 99.9% of companies in the U.S. undercompensate their female employees is basically taken as a fact of life. In fact, the company I work for actually touted the fact that women in our workplace are paid 99% of what their male counterparts are paid. Like we should be grateful for only being paid on average 1% less. I’m still wondering which man in corporate communications thought it would be a good idea to boast about the 99% pay “parity?” Also, just wondering where the 1% payout is for all of those female workers who were underpaid. Bueller? Bueller?
And folks the real problem isn’t just unequal pay. It is the sad fact that there is a dearth of women in management and executive roles. I was at a women’s luncheon last week and sat next to a lovely young attorney in her twenties. She mentioned that it was impossible for her to find female mentors who were partners in her firm so she had to ask male partners for guidance. And while it is fantastic that these men were open to helping her out, the fact of the matter is that when (or if) this young woman wants to have children these men will pretty much be useless. Because they have wives (or ex-wives). These men never had to make a choice between career and family. They were expected to bring home the bacon and anything else was just unexpected icing on the cake. But as working mothers we are expected to keep up at work, and take the kids to practice, and to the doctors, and the dentist, and playdates, and attend teachers conferences and, and, and…If you want to make partner at a law firm try doing all of that while you work eighty hours a week.
I’d like to see Google—and every company—take stock of how many women in management and executive positions they have. According to the latest statistics for the Center for American Progress these are the numbers, my friends:
- In the legal profession, women are 45 percent of associates but only 22.7 percent of partners and 19 percent of equity partners.
- In medicine, women represent 40 percent of all physicians and surgeons but only 16 percent of permanent medical school deans.
- In academia, women have earned the majority of doctorates for eight consecutive years but are only 32 percent of full professors and 30 percent of college presidents.
- In the financial services industry, women constitute 61 percent of accountants and auditors, 53 percent of financial managers, and 37 percent of financial analysts. But they are only 12.5 percent of chief financial officers in Fortune 500 companies.
So before we start handing out “parity bonuses” to our male colleagues, let’s look at what resources can be made available to boost more female representation at the executive level. That’s where the real gap exists. And it’s time to do something about it.
