4 Keys To Closing The Wage Gap

Written by: Rasheda Hatchett, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

When the topic of financial wellness is raised, what comes to mind are stocks and investments. The questions that are often asked are, “what are you investing in?” “How diverse is your portfolio?” “Who's your broker?” What's thought of less often is, how we stay financially well in a system that doesn't yet value equal pay for equal work.

In The U.S. on average women are paid about 83 cents for every dollar their male counterparts are paid. Many factors play into this; however, there's one single reason that this occurs, men are often paid more than women for the same job. This is a phenomenon that can only be explained by the residual effects of living in a culture that places a higher value on the contributions of men as opposed to those of women. What this means for female lead households and households that rely on two incomes to thrive, is that regardless of skill, talent, or knowledge, they may still be unable to create wealth at the same rate as their male counterparts. It also becomes clear that building financial wealth is as much about investing well as it is about being financially compensated in a way that reflects your work and organizational value. Female lead homes bear the same burden of responsibility as homes led by males; housing costs are the same, medical costs are the same, food, utilities, transportation, entertainment, and college tuition, are all the same. The cost of living has no regard for gender. It doesn't matter if you're male or female those costs are fixed and the difference in female wages causes undue hardship for female-led households that can feel punitive for being born female.

As concerning as this is, the salary gap is even wider when we discuss the wage gap of women of color versus that of males and white women. On average Black women make 64 cents to the dollar compared to white males. Latina women are even more disadvantaged and make about 57 cents to the dollar compared to white men. Though we’ve made some strides to close the gap, in many arenas black and brown women are paid far less than their white counterparts and even less than men. Closing the wage gap has as much to do with paying women equally as it does pain equally. Organizations bear a responsibility to assure that their hiring, and salary practices aren't discriminatory. As leaders, we must look at hours through the lens of equality and not simply meeting the bottom line. When you take the time to examine how you're paying your team and whether your compensation practices fall in line with a mission of equity and inclusion, you set your team up to Achieve financial Wellness. As the landscape changes and our Wellness programs include financial literacy and the promotion of financial Wellness to be prepared for retirement. It becomes more prevalent the nation's practices around fiscal responsibility are examined to assure they meet the mission vision and values of the organization.

Here are four steps to creating a culture of financial wellness within your organization:

1. Provide education to your team on the importance of salary and benefits negotiation. Women are less likely to negotiate their salary and more likely to accept an offer without negotiating any of the terms. Providing education that assists your team members in understanding how to negotiate, when to negotiate, and the need to negotiate equips them with the tools to create financial wellness for themselves and their families. This doesn’t have to be scary; it is simply an added benefit to let your team know that you value them as a whole person and their financial wellness is a priority.

2. Examine your hiring and salary practices. The numbers don't lie, if your organization has a pattern of paying men more for the same job, you must work to correct that behavior. If you find discrepancies, work with the leadership team to begin closing the gap. Remember, you’re moving toward the goal of equity, but, also, you’re saving your organization thousands of dollars. The cost of losing an employee who finds they have been unfairly paid is far more expensive than increasing their salary to reflect what their male counterparts are making.

3. Practice transparency. It is quite likely that your team members already know there is a wage gap, hiding that information or denying that it exists will only further ostracize your team members who are already considering leaving the organization. Being transparent and letting them know what you found and the plan to correct the problem builds trust and sends a message of integrity. Everyone wants to work for an organization that can admit flaws and works collaboratively to fix those problem areas. On the other hand, lies, and rug sweeping

4. Listen to your team. Taking the time to talk with your team and gather information on what their experience has been with negotiating their salaries, getting promoted, or asking for a raise can give you valuable insight into where potential problems lie, and how you can fix them. Your team is your greatest resource and identifying what it will take to retain the talent you have and attract new talent. people desire 2 recruit qualified colleagues, but if as an organization you're not practicing equality you run the risk of losing out on extraordinary referrals.

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Rasheda Hatchett, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

Rasheda is a leader in resilience-based leadership and burnout prevention. After finding herself loving her nursing career, but suffering from panic attacks and burnt-out, she began to work to create strategies to not only recover from burnout but to thrive in the face of adversity. She is now dedicated to helping other women on the rise move audaciously into their next level to create the life, career, and businesses they’ve dreamt of. She is the CEO of Rasheda Hatchett Media, a coaching and consulting firm steeped in her passion for leadership and wellness. Her clients include Kaiser Permanente- Washington, University of Washington, National Black Nurses Association, Black Doctor.org, and RNterprise Academy. Rasheda is an award-winning nurse leader and was the recipient of the 2019 Federal Way Public Schools Hero award for her community work and the 2019 Black Nurses Rock Leadership Academy- Fellowship Challenge Winner, for her outstanding leadership. She is a best-selling author, and the author of Sis, It’s Time to Thrive: A Unicorns Guide to Loving Yourself Audaciously, Living Large: A Nurses Journey Toward Resilience, and The Power of Organizational Resilience: How to Retain Talent and Increase Your Bottom Line. Rasheda helps organizations build resilient workforces through workshops focusing on building personal, team, and organizational resilience. She is dedicated to educating and guiding people from burnout to resilience and thriving.