GETTING TO EQUAL 2017 BRIDGING THE GENDER PAY GAP
KICKING INTO HIGH GEAR TO BRIDGE THE GENDER PAY GAP The fight for equal pay for men and women is like tilting against windmills. The topic has been debated in politics and society for years, but little has been done so far. However, well-educated women can do something to close the pay gap. International movements for women s equality emerged over a century ago in almost all industrialized countries. Many generations later, female employees are still financially worse off at work than their male colleagues. For every $100 a woman earns, a man earns a global average of $140 a full 40 percent more. In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the difference is even more dramatic, as documented in the current Accenture study Getting to Equal 2017. Looking at the basic pay gap, the three German-speaking countries are in the top third of the 24 countries studied, with a pay discrepancy of 60 percent. For every 1 a woman makes, a man in Germany and Switzerland makes an average of 1.60, and 1.63 in Austria. The hidden pay gap is even greater. The economic inequality between the genders is further exacerbated because only 50 percent of women worldwide pursue paid employment, compared with 76 percent of men. Taking this into consideration, the international average of earnings for men is more than two and a half times higher for the same work. In the German-speaking countries, between 71 and 79 percent of women hold a regular job. However, because they generally work fewer hours, the hidden pay gap is still above the average for developed countries and significantly above the figures in Scandinavia pioneers in matters of equal financial compensation. 2 GETTING TO EQUAL 2017
How much more men are paid than women per year USD 173 167 164 163 161 160 160 157 142 139 136 136 135 135 135 133 132 131 131 130 130 125 125 120 Japan India Netherlands Austria Great Britain Switzerland Germany Australia Argentina Ireland Canada USA Spain France Norway Finland Mexico Denmark Italy Singapore South Africa Sweden Brasil China 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 USD earned by men for every $100 a woman earns FOR EVERY $100 A WOMAN EARNS IN AUSTRIA, A MAN EARNS $163 FOR EVERY $100 A WOMAN EARNS IN SWITZERLAND, A MAN EARNS $160 FOR EVERY $100 A WOMAN EARNS IN GERMANY, A MAN EARNS $160 Average additional pay for men Source: Getting to Equal 2017, Accenture GETTING TO EQUAL 2017 3
PART-TIME WORK IS A CAREER BARRIER Part-time employment is a long-term problem for the economic power of women and the affected national economy. Not only because women work and earn less for an often open-ended period of time, but because they also rarely hold executive positions during the time they are working part-time. This can interfere with their career path over the long-term. Many companies have neither the confidence nor the ability or concepts to fill executive positions with part-time employees. There is also no career path oriented around part-time work that provides a way to gain experience and be promoted over a longer period of time ten years instead of five years, for example. This is compounded by a lack of or insufficient state assistance for comprehensive childcare, or the appropriate adjustment to the pension models. The Accenture study also identified three critical factors that directly disadvantage women on the path to pay equality during their vocational education: In Germany, fewer female than male students choose a course of study with higher earnings potential (25 percent vs. 30 percent). They are less likely to have a mentor (36 percent vs. 48 percent) and are less likely to aspire to a leadership position (33 percent vs. 48 percent). In addition, their course of study is less likely to be suited to technological abilities than their fellow male students (46 percent vs. 66 percent) and they are less likely to take programming and computer courses (66 percent vs. 89 percent). Without these skills, women often lack the foundation for higher paid employment and better career paths. 25 % 30 % In Germany, fewer female than male students choose a course of study with higher earnings potential 4 GETTING TO EQUAL 2017
USING CAREER LEVERS TO CLOSE THE GAPS Women should start to fight for their individual pay equality through personal initiative. Women can catch up financially to men in their career on the following three levels: DIGITAL FLUENCY Expand the extent of the use of digital technologies in order to network and exchange data with third parties, further education, or complete work; this skill is in high demand but seldom present. CAREER STRATEGY Stronger focus on setting career goals, making well-considered decisions, and proactively advancing the career. If these career catalysts are used consistently, the pay gaps in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland could be significantly reduced as soon as 2030 by increasing incomes up to 70 percent. For example, women in Germany who complete their university degree in 2020 would be the first who would not need to expect any financial discrimination in their careers. If women take more control of their own career progression the pay gap would be closed in 2044, and not 36 years later as is currently projected. TECHNOLOGICAL IMMERSION Strengthen the ability to acquire digital and technological skills at least as quickly as men and be well-versed in exciting future topics. Time required to close the pay gap INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES EMERGING COUNTRIES WITH THREE EQUALIZING FACTORS 2044 WITH THREE EQUALIZING FACTORS CURRENT TREND 2080 CURRENT TREND 2066 2168 Source: Getting to Equal 2017, Accenture GETTING TO EQUAL 2017 5
THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT FIX IT ALONE At the same time, the results of our study dispel the notion that government regulation is a silver bullet. Those who want to close the income gap have to increase the likelihood that women will make up a greater percentage of the labor market, be promoted faster and will also be able to make their career paths financially more successful. To do so, we have to answer three recurring questions: HOW DO WE GET WOMEN INTERESTED IN TECHNOLOGY AND JOBS THAT INVOLVE IT? These areas are expected to pay better salaries in the long term. In addition, digital fluency is as fundamental as reading and writing, and technological expertise has become a fixed component of professional education. HOW DO WE SHAPE LEADERSHIP ROLES SO THAT THEY REMAIN ATTRACTIVE? Do managers need to do or know everything themselves? Leading in the New, managing the world of tomorrow, refers first and foremost to the talent for organizing people with a variety of expertise and creating an environment in which everyone can contribute with their strengths. Empowering teams to respond quickly to new challenges is a key factor for success. IS THERE STILL A LACK OF COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN FAMILY AND CAREER? Or is there a particular lack of role models, especially in German, Austria, and Switzerland, who simply live and work? So far, there has been a strong correlation between income equality and placing career over family. However, part-time employment as it exists today has generally proven not to be the best alternative. It often still means a career off switch. Because women and men increasingly expect both a good work-life balance and an active role in their families, we need solutions that are new on a fundamental level and role models to show how women can do both. It is also part of women s responsibility to plan and shape the balance between family and career with their partners. 6 GETTING TO EQUAL 2017
THIS RESULTS IN THREE SPECIFIC TASKS: Women must take a more active role in planning their career. It is vital that they develop their digital skills and technological expertise during their studies as well as in their career. Better conditions are needed to bring more women into full-time work new ideas to make family and career more compatible, as well as a different self-image for women and men for their shared way of living. We need strategies for part-time careers with long-term opportunities for advancement like designing and opening up management positions and specialized careers for job-sharing or part-time employment. Only then can the expertise needed for further advancement be established, even when longer periods of parenting or creativity are incorporated into the career. At Accenture, we are working intently to ensure that in our company, women and men are represented in equal proportion, find careers, or attain management positions. In our FE&MALE Growth initiative, women and men work together in a diverse, genderbalanced workforce. Networking events for working parents, mentor programs, and unconscious bias training workshops are now accessible for all employees regardless of gender, some are even mandatory. Learn more in our study Getting to Equal 2017. Let s work toward the goal of actual equality for men and women together. accenture.com/gettingtoequal GETTING TO EQUAL 2017 7
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