How employers can rectify the LGBTQ pay gap

Most employers are aware of the pay gaps that exist for women and people of color — but have they noticed the pay disparities among their LGBTQIA employees? 

According to a Human Rights Campaign survey of nearly 7,000 queer-identifying workers, LGBTQ+ talent makes 90 cents for every dollar a cisgender, heterosexual employee makes. This gap only widens when that employee is also a woman, person of color, trans or all of the above. Trans women are disadvantaged the most, making just 60 cents on the dollar. 

"Even though so many companies have made great strides in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, there's a lot of work that still needs to be done," says Sarah Reynolds, chief marketing officer at HR tech company HiBob. "Compensation is fundamental to the relationship between employer and employee. We don't go to work for fun; we exchange labor for, hopefully, fair compensation."

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Reynolds notes that the pay gap is likely rooted in discriminatory behaviors or assumptions from leadership (whether conscious or unconscious). Hiring managers may take salary negotiations with a queer employee less seriously or queer employees may have trouble establishing the relationships often needed to score big promotions or pay raises. But the "why" is less important than the solution, which Reynolds believes will involve gathering feedback through surveys — which in this case, is much easier said than done.

Reynolds, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, knows firsthand how hard it can be for queer talent to be open about their gender identity or sexuality. On the flip side, they know how confusing it can be for HR, who is often in the dark about the size of their LGBTQIA population.

"One of the simplest but hardest things to execute is to measure pay gaps," says Reynolds. "Until we create safe spaces in our organizations, where employees feel comfortable self-identifying, HR will never be able to overcome the hurdle of understanding what the [gaps] even look like."

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One key way employers can build a safe workplace culture is through employee resource groups. If C-suite and other company leaders not only listen and act on ERG feedback, but are even in the ERGs themselves, employees will feel a lot more comfortable in a corporate setting. For example, an LGBTQIA-focused ERG can be a resource for HR, acting as a sounding board of what stipulations would make employees comfortable taking a compensation survey. 

And that trust is worth building, underlines Reynolds, recalling a HiBob customer who created an anonymous employee engagement survey including questions on the queer community. The customer discovered that over 50% of their employees identified as part of the LGBTQIA community.

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"This means that instead of making decisions for a minority population, you're making decisions that could benefit the majority of your employees," says Reynolds. "That's a fundamental shift for the company." 

Reynolds stresses how crucial it is for employers to rectify pay gaps, calling it the foundation of the employer-employee relationship. If companies want their DEI slogans to be put into action, then fair compensation is a must. It's a clear indication that employers value their LGBTQIA talent all year round, and not just during pride month, says Reynolds. 

"If the foundation is shaky, it doesn't matter how many pride parties, rainbow logos or corporate value statements you put on top of it," they say. "You're building a house on shaky ground."