The Workplace Equity Study, conducted by WorldatWork in partnership with Korn Ferry, found that more than half of organizations are taking steps to address pay equity in their workplaces.
The study, which collected 964 responses from organizations of various sizes, was designed to provide a window into how organizations are addressing, and whether they plan to address, pay equity and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including goals, analysis methodologies and frequency, adjustments, transparency and communications, metrics and more. A January 2019 pay equity practices survey provided a bench- mark for pay equity questions posed in the more recent study.
Many of the 2020 findings mirrored the 2019 survey, including: 60% of organizations saying they are taking action on pay equity; 33% saying it’s “on our radar” and 7% indicating its “not on our radar.”
60% of organizations saying they are taking action on pay equity;
33% saying it’s “on our radar” and 7% indicating
its “not on our radar.”
One of the most significant pay equity-addressing changes in 2020 from 2019 was increased frequency of compensation analyses. The percentage of companies conducting those analyses once per year or more frequently grew to 73% in 2020 from 65% in 2019.
In addition, 31% of responding organizations gave themselves high grades for pay equity management, with 56% indicating they are “mostly equitable,” with “some pay discrepancies” existing within the company. Sixteen percent of respondents say that their organizations are highly or fully transparent in terms of pay equity communication, with 65% reporting they have “some” or “moderate” transparency around pay equity communication.
