14.1%
The number above is the disheartening percentage difference in salary between men and women in Australia right now. The stats get worse from here – there are twice the amount of men in Australia’s top earning quartile (i.e. earning salaries of $120,000 and up), and twice the amount of women in the bottom earning quartile (earning $60,000 and below). High paying industries such as technology and construction are heavily male-dominated, and in sectors where both genders are equally represented, we’re still seeing an alarming difference in what women earn for the same job a man is doing. Sabrina Houssami, Founder and CEO of boutique recruitment agency Avanti Search, has dedicated herself to connecting high quality candidates with compatible employers and building productive relationships.
Sabrina recently spoke at the HR of Tomorrow Conference on some strategies that employers and recruiters can use to combat gender inequality in the workplace, and the gender pay gap that subsequently arises.
Be a champion for women in the salary negotiation process
Compared to their male counterparts, female candidates often tend to undersell themselves when it comes to salary negotiations. As a result, they can be viewed as a ‘bargain,’ and hiring managers will often jump at the chance to save money within their hiring budget.
“Let’s flip the switch,” says Sabrina. “What’s more important – cost savings, or ensuring that your female workforce is paid their due? Everytime I speak to a woman who says, ‘Oh, I’ll only ask for a salary of $90,000’ I say to them, ‘Why? You are worth so much more. This is the real amount you should be paid. I will be recommending we pay you at this higher amount – $110,000’, or whatever figure is appropriate.
That’s how we start closing the gap. When we start telling women, ‘No, what you were paid previously is too low for your skillset, so now we’re going to right some wrongs. We’re going to pay you what you’re worth.’”
Reduce overly high experience requirements
Too many managers ask for a certain number of years of experience from candidates, which automatically excludes a large portion of female candidates due to the fact that women in general spend more time out of the workforce due to child rearing and domestic obligations. This means that women are often faced with an uphill battle where hiring managers require an unrealistic number of years of experience from prospective hires.
“Studies have shown that the maximum number that indicates good performance is five years,” says Sabrina. “Anything over five years of experience does not have any correlation with successful performance in a role.”
Revising how much importance you place on a requirement such as ‘a minimum of 10 years’ experience’ could open the door for many qualified women to join your team.
Data-driven policy reform
In the recruitment field, data is an extremely valuable resource for informing forward-facing company policies.
“Start paying attention to what top candidates are asking for when you interview them,” suggests Sabrina. “Is it extra parental leave, flexible work, the chance to job share? And then use that data to inform your policies. If you want to attract excellent female candidates – or excellent candidates in general – you need to hear what is being asked of you in this extremely competitive market. And then you need to work to deliver it. Let that data be your guiding point.”
Gender-sensitive job advertising
“Here’s a really easy tip off the back of eye-opening data,” says Sabrina. “Studies on job advertising practices show that having six bullet points or less in the ‘ideal candidate’ section of your advertisement is the sweet spot for encouraging women to apply to your job ad. If you list more than six bullet points, data shows that the number of female applicants drops off significantly.”
This can be attributed to female ‘imposter syndrome’, which is a common problem that many women experience when searching for work, where they tend to devalue their own abilities and don’t apply for jobs with a longer list of requirements. Short, concise advertisements tend to perform better in general, and for women particularly.
There are also ‘gendered language’ decoding tools you can access online, such as this, which scan your job ad text content and offer suggestions on wording that appeals best to males and females, in order to attract a diverse candidate pool.
“It’s not rocket science,” says Sabrina. “It’s all simple, actionable stuff that starts with us. And I’ve found it’s made a significant difference for many of my clients and former employers.”
You can connect with Sabrina Houssami and her team at Avanti Search through their website and LinkedIn pages.
