“The Snapshot tells us that female employees are more likely to feel respect for their boss, but other data also tells us that they are more likely to be paid less by that boss,” Dr Jenny George said, thus highlighting that respect does not lead to wage equality.
Female workers respect their boss more than their male colleagues – even though they are more likely to be paid significantly less by them – a remaining gap in wage equality.
That is one of the findings in the 2016 Snapshot of the Australian Workplace – a national survey of 1001 workers undertaken by not-for-profit global think-tank, Reventure Ltd.
The survey found that 52% of female employees strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement, “I have a lot of respect and admiration for my boss”, compared to 44% of males.
This contrasts strongly with data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, who report women earn on average $13,577 less than males every year, which increases for women over the age of 45.
The Agency estimates that the Australian gender pay gap is roughly 16.2%.
“One of the most significant issues in the workplace, and indeed in society, is the gender pay gap,” said CEO of human resources firm Converge International Dr Jenny George.
“The Snapshot tells us that female employees are more likely to feel respect for their boss, but other data also tells us that they are more likely to be paid less by that boss,” George said.
“There could be a variety of reasons for this greater feeling of respect, and we don’t know exactly how this plays into the gender pay gap, but it is clearly doing little to bridge the significant divide we continue to see,” George said.
“Most companies aim to use merit, experience and contribution to the company as the most important factors in awarding pay increases and promotions. However gender differences in attitude and responses in the workplace contribute to unconscious bias and ways of defining merit and experience which value the contributions of men more highly than those of women,” George said.
“Statistics like these are why we started A Future That Works, a campaign to focus business leaders, employers, employees and contractors on how to improve and renew their workplaces,” George concluded.
Inside Small Business
