Before taking shots at companies for failing to pay women fairly, critics need to review specifics that may explain why a man is getting paid more, writes Dawn Boyer, owner of Boyer Consulting and a 20-year human resources veteran. “What if there is a male vice president of marketing and a female vice president of sales–surely that would be obvious unfair pay practices if the male was paid 25% more than the female, right?” Boyer writes.
But having the same job title does not mean that the man and woman should be paid the same, she notes. “The male VP was a recent hire, has a master’s degree and 20 years of success in marketing and sales from two previous employers,” Boyer writes. “The female VP was a long-term company employee and, in fact, worked her way up to VP level from an administrative position. But, she only had five years of direct experience in sales.”
The woman had been with the company for a decade, had earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting and took a total of three, six-month unpaid leaves due to pregnancy. “If the human resources manager were to choose between the two qualified candidates for the same job simultaneously, the male would more likely get the job because of his education and number of years in the industry, whereas the female would have fewer qualifications in comparison for the same job,” Boyer writes.