Best of the week: Women push for workplace equality

March 5, 2021 10:45 AM

Advancing and highlighting women in the workplace should be top of mind during March’s Women’s History month and beyond.

Our Rising Stars in HR and advising deserve to be celebrated for their contributions to the benefits space. Stepfanie Cano overcame a personal tragedy and now dedicates her career to helping other clients combat inefficiencies in the healthcare system. All of our Rising Stars content can be found here.

Both men and women need to work together to tackle workplace inequality, but a new survey by Monster found that 73% of men do not think they are paid differently than their female counterparts. Currently, the wage gap has women making $0.81 for every dollar men earn.

Employers should be transparent about salary so employees of all genders know what’s appropriate when it comes to wages. TriNet’s new features allow employers to compare compensation for the same roles at different companies. Greater awareness can help employers make more equitable decisions about pay.

Read more on how employers are addressing gender parity in the workplace from our top stories of the week:

Men are in the dark about pay equality

The gender pay gap has been a persistent challenge for women in the workplace — so is getting men to recognize it.

While 74% of women do not think they make the same salary as their male counterparts, 73% of men believe that both genders are paid equally, according to a study by job searching platform Monster. Currently, white women make 81 cents for every dollar a man makes, regardless of experience, industry or job level, according to Payscale, a compensation data platform.

“There's clearly a gender divide when it comes to perception of equal pay,” says Claire Barnes, Monster’s chief human capital officer. “We're not transparent enough about it. If we’re not talking about it and we don’t have a philosophy on pay equity, there’s a risk that this gender divide happens.”

Read more:

Men are in the dark about pay equality

New TriNet features address gender equality

Employers can combat pay inequality by understanding what their employees are worth — TriNet’s newest feature puts that data at their fingertips.

The HR management platform partnered with Salary.com, a compensation data provider, to provide employers with a salary benchmarking tool on TriNet. The new feature will allow employers to compare compensation for the same roles at different companies, even on their cell phone.

Companies are still underpaying women for doing the same work as their male colleagues. White women currently make 81 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to data from Payscale, a compensation data company. During the pandemic, women have been laid off in such record numbers that the New York Times labeled the period a “she-cession.” Using salary comparison tools can help employers make more equitable decisions about compensation.

Read more:

New TriNet features address gender equality

9 benefit leaders dominating HR and advising in 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged HR and benefits professionals in unprecedented ways. The global shift to remote work has shown employers they need to take a more holistic approach in helping their employees maintain balance and alleviate stress in their work and personal lives.

As employers made additions and improvements to their benefits, the challenge of managing these changes fell on HR teams, advisers and other benefit professionals. For those just starting out in the industry, it was a baptism by fire.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, I joked that everything I knew about HR was thrown out the window,” says Megan Nail, vice president at First Person Advisors. “The work we did during this time was some of the proudest of my career.”

Family tragedy drives benefits pro to greater healthcare education

Stefanie Cano, an account manager with Thrive Benefits, had dreams of being a dentist after college, but life-altering news of her father’s cancer diagnosis drastically changed her plans.

Not only was the news devastating for the family, but they were also left to navigate the complexities of the U.S. healthcare system. The challenge was compounded by the fact that her father did not have insurance. While Cano’s family did their best to find him the best care possible, her father passed away in 2015, just nine months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

The tragedy inspired Cano to switch careers with the hope of making a difference in the lives of other people dealing with challenging healthcare situations. Cano’s strength and determination to see the system change is what makes her part of the 2021 Rising Stars in benefits and advising.

Read more:

Family tragedy drives benefits pro to provide greater healthcare education

Amazon sued for alleged race, gender bias in corporate hires

Amazon.com was sued for allegedly discriminating against Black and female workers in hiring employees for its corporate offices.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Washington, alleges that Amazon hires people of color “at lower levels” and promotes them less than white co-workers with similar qualifications. The claims include discrimination and harassment as well as violations of the Equal Pay Act.

“These practices have an especially severe effect on Black women at the company,” according to a statement from Wigdor, the law firm that filed the suit on behalf of Charlotte Newman. Newman is head of underrepresented founder startup business development at Amazon Web Services.

Read more:

Amazon sued for alleged race, gender bias in corporate hires