If The Shoe Fits: Fairness Means Equal Pay
by Miki Saxon
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts here.
I often field questions about compensation, stock allocation and bonuses that revolve around the idea of fairness.
There have been more calls since a rise in media attention to gender pay inequities, especially focused on tech. They look at what other countries are doing, such as a recent UK law, and wonder if similar things could happen here or if someday down the line they will have to do as Marc Benioff did.
Whether the subject starts with diversity or compensation, my callers fall in two distinct camps.
- Those looking for ways to bake fairness into their company’s DNA; and
- The ones who want to cloak current unfair actions in a veneer of acceptability.
(I have to admit that listening to the second group stumble around trying camouflage what they want to do is amusing, but definitely not funny.)
Of course, it’s easiest for founders just starting, since they have no historical staff or (hopefully) bad habits, but any size organization can do it if management is determined and has the grit to follow-through.
Here are some basics actions:
- Develop core values around fairness, diversity, transparency, etc., make both values and culture public on their site, and follow-through when recruiting.
- Salary and stock offers should be based on the value and effect of the position on the company’s success, as opposed to the person you are hiring.
- Before approving compensation compare it with similar people inside and out for fairness, especially if the candidate is a woman or minority.
- Talk to others, such as Gusto cofounder and CTO Edward Kim or the folks behind the Founders for Change coalition.
The most critical factor is a willingness to pass on hiring people when it’s obvious they are assuming it’s just talk or that you should make an exception for them because they are special.
As I’ve said in the past, “If you pay your people equally when you hire and promote there won’t be a pay gap for you to erase.”
Image credit: HikingArtist
