5 Must-Have Strategies to Close the Gender Pay Gap with People Analytics

Explore –

1. Why Do Women Fall Behind in the Workplace?
2. What Are the Changes That Can Narrow the Gap?
3. 5 Strategies That Can Help Close the Gender Pay Gap
4. Sustaining the Momentum to Close the Gender Pay Gap

Why Do Women Fall Behind in the Workplace?

There is no denying that there has been progress in gender equity in recent years. Yet, women face unique challenges in the workplace, particularly around access to information and growth opportunities. The gender pay gap does not just reflect differences in pay. It also appears in systemic barriers that prevent women from progressing in their careers.

Many organizations still do not disclose salary bands for open positions, making it difficult for women to negotiate fair compensation. Erin Simmons shared findings from a Matchtech survey of STEM candidates, stating that “84% of women said they wouldn’t apply or drop out of the interview process if there wasn’t a salary band available, or they couldn’t see any reward history from that role.” This lack of access to information disadvantages women in negotiating fair and equitable wages.

SplashBI for HR features a robust compensation dashboard that provides granular visibility into salary distribution across the organization, including the connection of compensation to gender and ethnicity. The visibility of these metrics can help the organisation be more transparent about compensation internally and externally, and also correct any potential gaps.

Negotiation of compensation remains a tricky subject, especially for women. Victoria Collier highlighted how different genders approach negotiation and the difference in resulting perception. “There’s a stat from Glassdoor and there’s a statement from Harvard Business Review, but the Glassdoor statement says that 68% of men will negotiate their salary, whereas only 45% of women will negotiate. That’s backed up by a statement from Harvard Business Review, which researched the perception of men and women when negotiating. And there’s a negativity bias in the perception of women who negotiate compared to men.”

Another easily overlooked problem that hinders women is the ‘broken rung’ phenomenon, where women struggle to secure promotions to managerial positions. These positions tend to have better pay and benefits, and women’s lack of representation in these roles can skew the pay gap significantly. Erika Sandoval highlighted this issue during the webinar, noting, “We see more men in these promotional positions, and that’s why, with this broken rung, the discussion is what positions are women coming into our organization, and what is hindering them into getting into managerial position? And that’s why the data is critical.”

SplashBI for HR helps HR teams and leaders understand gender splits across roles, specifically in leadership positions. This bird’s-eye view of gender equity across job levels helps stakeholders design systems to repair the ‘broken rung’ and give strong candidates the tools to achieve smoother career progression.

What Are the Changes That Can Narrow the Gap?

A solution that was looked at favorably by the webinar participants was targeted surveys and regular temperature checks. Jerese Isaac-Emile discussed the concept of the entrance interview and how it is important to gather data early in the employee journey, not just when they are exiting the company. “You can do an entrance interview based on different demographics, genders, and races—to gather really good data to make decisions. So, when you put people in place for those departments, they have what they need in order to build a good strategy around making their hiring process more robust and making their workforce more diverse.”

Doubling down on the importance of assessing how employees really feel, Manjari Gupta added, “The employee sentiment should always be included when we are talking about public reporting or any reports. The organization may feel that they are making changes, but does the employee working inside the organization share the same sentiment? Are their efforts actually reaching the right people?”

5 Strategies That Can Help Close the Gender Pay Gap

• Regular pay audits
• Transparent pay structures
• Bias-free recruitment metrics
• Well-defined drivers of pay and benefits
• Continuous monitoring and reporting

Performance evaluations and bonuses are domains where unconscious bias against women can occur. SplashBI for HR provides detailed visualizations on bonus payouts and performance bias, allowing decision makers to evaluate contribution vs. compensation fairly.

In addition to reporting, the panelists stressed the importance of holistic benefits as a key to closing the pay gap. From offer negotiation to pension and medical benefits, the gap tends to get wider over time, especially when women may take career breaks to care for children.

On average, women work 19 years longer than men to earn the same pension.

Erin Simmons explained, “On average in the UK, men have around £205,000 saved in their pension, and women have £69,000. We tend to accept the gender pay gap as just there.”

A recommendation discussed as a remedy to this problem was continuing pension contributions during maternity leave. Many women fall behind in retirement savings due to career breaks, and this gap widens over time. Victoria Collier highlighted the urgency of such policies, saying, “If we could change maternity and paternity laws so that when parents take maternity or paternity, their pension contributions continue to get paid, I think that would be a real good step forward.”

The role of legislation in driving change was an important theme during the discussion. The panelists discussed that countries like the U.K. and those in the European Union have taken the lead in mandating pay transparency and reporting requirements, but the U.S. still lags behind. They agreed that there remains a gulf between reporting and enforcement, with regulatory compliance currently viewed as an additional administrative task rather than an exercise with meaningful outcomes.

Sustaining the Momentum to Close the Gender Pay Gap

Throughout the SplashBI webinar, one message resonated clearly: without consistent action backed by reliable data, progress will remain slow and uneven. As Christina Crowley emphasized, “Many organizations publish their gender pay gap data. They’re capturing this information, they’re looking at surveys, they understand what their candidate ratios are, they understand where their pay and equities stand, but looking at it and then translating that into action — that’s two completely different things”

The panelists underscored that while many organizations are making strides, these efforts must be tracked, measured, and regularly adjusted based on real-world outcomes. People analytics tools are at the forefront of this movement. By transforming raw data into actionable insights, they provide organizations with the clarity needed to make meaningful changes.

Solutions like SplashBI for HR allow HR teams and executives to monitor progress, adjust strategies, and ensure that pay equity initiatives have the desired impact. Whether it’s through regular pay audits, tracking promotions, or ensuring equitable benefits, people analytics offer a comprehensive approach to closing the gender pay gap.