The reasons for the gender pay gap in the United States, and globally, are varied and complex. Promoting internal pay equity strengthens your organization and prepares it for sustained success in today’s global market. When the drivers of pay disparity are broken down for analysis, a bridge to overcoming the gender gap within an organization can be designed. This article highlights three concrete steps an organization can take to reduce the gender pay gap.  Each of these steps is a direct response to a known driver of gender-based pay disparity. Each has additional organizational value, such as improved talent retention generally. Are you ready to work on bridging the gap? Then let’s get to work.

Context.  The gender pay gap is generally expressed as an average of the difference between compensation paid to men and compensation paid to women. Governments, advocacy groups, economists and many other interested organizations measure the gender pay gap in various ways. The U.S. Department of Labor relies on census data when reporting that women who worked full-time, year-round in 2014 earned, on average, 79 percent of men’s median annual earnings. Regardless of which metric is used, there is no reasonable basis for disputing the existence of the gender pay gap. It exists.