Employer actions to support low-paid women

Women have been breaking barriers for generations—but pay disparities persist. The average working woman will have to work all of 2024 AND through March 25, 2025, to earn the same pay that a man in a comparable role will have earned during 2024. That’s gender pay inequity. And it’s even worse for Black and Latina women. As someone who has experienced gender pay inequity myself, I am passionate about speaking out and advocating to reverse this practice.  The most effective organizations don't just acknowledge inequities; they take action to eliminate them. Here are 5 steps to address discriminatory compensation practices and ensure pay equity: 💰 Audit your pay structures. Identify and correct pay gaps by conducting regular pay equity audits. Then don’t negotiate deals with new hires that negate your efforts to be more equitable internally. Transparency is key! 📊 Measure your results. Set clear goals, collect and analyze compensation data, and assess the impact of policies on women—especially Black and Hispanic women, who continue to face the widest gaps. 🏛️ Strengthen internal policies. Pay disparities don't fix themselves! Organizations must implement fair hiring, promotion, and salary-setting practices that prioritize equity. 🚀 Promote pay transparency. Secrecy around how salaries are set allows inequalities to persist. Clear, standardized pay bands help ensure fairness. ⚖️ Hold leadership accountable. Closing the wage gap isn't just an HR issue—it's a leadership imperative. Senior leaders must champion pay equity and commit to meaningful change. Women deserve to be paid what they're worth. The strongest organizations recognize it, talk about it, and (most importantly) take real action to make it happen. What steps are your organizations taking to close the gap? I recommend checking out these resources on the Association of Corporate Counsel website, expertly curated by Jean-Baptiste Pessey and his team, to learn actionable ways to make a difference at your company. https://lnkd.in/eeWd6Mvj #PayTransparency #PayInequality #WageGap #Compensation #Leadership

Since January 2025, more than 350,000 Black women have lost jobs. This Labor Day, that statistic reminds us that not all labor is valued equally and that the pursuit of dignity and fairness in the workplace is far from over. Labor Day was created because ordinary people refused to accept unsafe conditions, child labor and poverty wages as the price of work. And Black women have always been on the frontline leading movements, building communities, launching businesses and sustaining institutions to improve living conditions for everyone. Yet too often, we’ve been expected to do more, receive less and carry it all without the recognition, opportunities, protections or pay we deserve. And let me be clear: this is not a call for equal outcomes. It’s a call for equal opportunity especially because Black women are often more qualified, have consistently demonstrated excellence and yet are still required to play by a different set of rules. Ensuring everyone plays by the same rules requires intentional action, not just words or symbolic gestures, but concrete changes in how workplaces operate every day. That kind of fairness doesn’t happen by accident; it happens through intentional choices like these: ✅️Hold hiring managers accountable and only promote those who care about people, know how to lead with fairness and uphold the same standards for everyone. ✅️Look around. Who’s missing? True leadership reflects the community it serves. ✅️Collect and publish data on pay, promotion and retention by race and gender. ✅️Interrupt bias when you see double standards, microaggressions or goalpost-shifting. ✅️Audit pay and promotions regularly to ensure fairness and transparency and commit to closing wage gaps. ✅️Credit contributions so Black women’s ideas are not ignored until repeated by someone else. ✅️Review job descriptions and advancement criteria to eliminate bias that undervalues or screens out Black women. ✅️Create transparent systems for hiring, evaluations and career growth. ✅️Build leadership pipelines so Black women are not just participants, but decision-makers. ✅️Listen to and believe Black women’s experiences in the workplace. History offers us powerful role models: Mary McLeod Bethune, Fannie Lou Hamer, Pauli Murray, Lucy Parsons, Ella Baker, Dorothy Height, Rosina Tucker, Addie Wyatt and countless others who advanced the pursuit of dignity at work. But the work isn’t done. Double standards, shifting goalposts and both subtle and blatant disrespect remain barriers Black women face every day. And here’s the truth: when conditions improve for Black women, they improve for everyone. Advancing fairness strengthens workplaces, families, communities and society as a whole. Change happens when each of us chooses fairness over convenience. That’s the unfinished work of Labor Day and it’s work we should choose to finish together. #leadership #management #fairness

Every year on International Women’s Day, my feed fills up with thoughtful posts—from men and women—thanking the women in their lives. And while appreciation is great, the reality is that women are still underpaid, under-promoted, and underrepresented in leadership. So this year, instead of just saying thank you, let’s ask: What are we actually doing to change that? ✅ Pay Equity Isn’t a “Nice to Have”—It’s a Business Imperative. My recent experience at Syndio taught me that pay gaps don’t close themselves. Companies that regularly audit pay, address inequities, and commit to transparency aren’t just doing the right thing—they’re building stronger, more competitive, and lasting workplaces. ✅ Hire, Promote, and Sponsor Women. If your leadership team or pipeline is mostly men, it’s not by accident. Be intentional about who gets hired, who gets the big projects, and who gets a seat at the table. ✅ Parental Leave & Caregiving Support Shouldn’t Be Career Killers. Women still carry the majority of caregiving responsibilities, and it impacts their careers. Fair parental leave, flexible work policies, and support for caregivers benefit everyone—not just women. ✅ Call Out Bias When You See It. That woman who got talked over in the meeting? The idea she voiced that was ignored until a man repeated it? Don’t just notice—speak up. Being an ally means taking action in the moment. ✅ Invest in Women’s Careers & Ventures. Fund female founders. Mentor women in your industry. Advocate for women to get leadership opportunities. The more women rise, the better workplaces (and businesses) become. Gratitude is great. But real change comes from action. What’s one thing you’re committing to today to make workplaces better for women? #IWD2025 #InternationalWomensDay #GenderEquity #EqualPay #WomenInLeadership