Hi friends,
Bad news: we’re losing ground when it comes to supporting women at work. A new report from Payscale shows that the gender pay gap in the US is currently widening; particularly for women of colour and women further along in their careers.
Why is this happening now? A few reasons:
With pay transparency becoming the law in many markets (yay!) the new data, often previously unavailable or unpublished, is highlighting structuring inequities (boo!)
Pay transparency requires companies to share a salary range for a role they’re posting. It doesn’t require them to have open and equitable practices in deciding what those salaries are. It also doesn’t require them to have a clear and fair process for moving up within a salary band, or to a role with a higher one. Pay decisions are often still negotiated behind closed doors.
The impact of caregiving responsibilities continue to fall largely on women. They’re more likely to sacrifice pay for flexibility, and the pay gap on work-from-home jobs is wider. This can be attributed to a few things; visibility, as well as the willingness to make that trade, both contribute. At the same time, forcing women back to the office isn’t a viable solution; recently, I spoke to the Canadian Press about how return-to-work mandates disproportionately impact women and their career growth.
Grim stuff, but having clear data can help us advocate for real solutions. Specifically:
Share full salary frameworks, not just ranges, so people understand how pay actually works. This is what we build (and require) of clients in our own compensation consulting practice, but I’d love to see more of this mandated into legal requirements.
Set clear, consistent processes for raises and promotions.
Track and audit pay equity regularly, with accountability. That could look like sharing those goals and stats with your team, or even making it part of the goals that impact executive pay.
Improve support for caregivers. This is a broader systems issue, but organizations can still make a difference through subsidies, flexible schedules, and leave policies that support parents without limiting their progression.
Work together. Everyone is squeezed for time, especially parents, but collective action can amplify voices. I really admire the work Allison Venditti has been doing with Moms at Work. Allison was a huge part of getting pay transparency passed in Ontario, and does a great job of sharing information and resources that help women advocate and negotiate.
The widening pay gap is influenced by bigger, system-wide dynamics, but thoughtful employers still have real power to make work more equitable. If this is part of the work you’re doing, it’s a good moment to look at what’s within your control.
NEW IN EARLY MAGAZINE 📖
An anonymous VP, fed up with her boss’s nonstop AI obsession, starts questioning the ethics— and her next move.
One in five nonprofit workers are considering leaving their jobs. 41% of them are burnt out. 52% are missing key HR support structures. What can we do about it?
BRIGHT READS 📚
A thoughtful and helpful blog post on when a manager should step in (and a few tangible ideas on how to do it without steamrolling your team)
A cool data tool to visualize US labour market and which jobs are trending up (and down).
Inc. published these 14 unhinged work stories from HR pros (and, as someone who’s done this job for 15+ years, I believe every one of them)
An interactive map of the weird, niche tech billboards along Highway 101 in California.
Post-layoff, a lot of tech workers are taking pay cuts.
People have a lot to say this week about the “taste economy” and how, in an AI-powered world, having good taste (so the better to instruct and curate your vibe coding) may be all that’s left. Thoughts?
We linked this above, too, but I’m really blown away by this new edition of Work Diaries in Early. In this edition, an anonymous VP, fed up with her boss outsourcing everything to AI (Strategy! Performance reviews! Regular conversations!) can’t seem to get any work done without a human at the helm.
BRIGHT JOBS ☀️
Every issue, we’ll share a curated list of exciting jobs at Bright + Early partners. Bright + Early organizations are all committed to building human, inclusive places to work. Note that we’re not involved in hiring– please apply directly. As part of our advocacy for pay transparency, we only share jobs that include it.
Other., a high-growth performance marketing agency (who also has a high standard of care for their team!) is hiring for a Revenue Operations Manager and a Media Planner
The Black Health Alliance is hiring for a variety of roles, including a Policy Lead, Program Manager, and Community Engagement Specialist
Maple, a pioneer in Canadian telehealth, has a few openings, including for a Senior Manager- People and Culture, a Senior Product Designer, and an EA.
Luminato, Toronto’s iconic art festival, is hiring an Associate Director of Philanthropy
COMING UP 👀
April 1-9 is Passover
April 3 is Good Friday
April 5/6 is Easter Sunday/Monday
April 22 is Earth Day
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