April 10, 2018, was Equal Pay Day in the United States. The National Committee on Pay Equity started the public awareness event in 1996 to shed light on how far into the year women must work to earn what men had earned in the previous year. In light of this day, I want to share with you some inspiring findings from IMA’s 2018 Global Salary Survey, as well as other initiatives IMA is participating in to support women in career advancement.
CLOSING THE PAY GAP
We know closing the gender pay gap will take time, and small improvements are encouraging, but more needs to be done. In March, IMA published its 2018 Global Salary Survey. Among its findings is that the gender pay gap has closed slightly from last year overall. Most women, though, aren’t seeing change in the right direction.
Overall, women’s median base salary and total compensation are at 90% that of men, whereas last year they were at 89% and 84%, respectively. Although the overall gaps seem to have improved, gaps among women ages 20 to 29 reversed track from last year. This year, women ages 20 to 29 earned a median base salary 15% lower than that of men in the same age group. Last year, the women’s median base salary was 50% higher than that of the men for this age group.
Similarly, the Middle East/Africa region is the only region that includes categories where women’s median compensation exceeded that of the men, and women in Europe reported the highest overall gap of all the regions (67%). While some of these findings are encouraging, organizations around the world need to offer women the same opportunities as men.
HELPING WOMEN ACHIEVE THEIR POTENTIAL
On March 8, 2018, IMA hosted our Women’s Accounting Leadership Series in Amsterdam, Netherlands. More than 100 women from across Europe networked with accomplished female leaders, developed leadership skills, and discussed issues facing women in the accounting and finance professions. Attendees also walked away with useful tools for managing professional challenges, achieving better work-life balance, and developing essential skills. Our next Women’s Leadership event will be in Boston, Mass., on October 26, 2018.
Events like these help address the gender gap and raise awareness for women working in business. The success of women is the success of the organization. Without everyone working equally as a team, an organization cannot be successful.
How will you enact change this year? What else can organizations do to continue to close the gender pay gap?
ADDITIONAL READING:
IMA's 2018 Global Salary Survey
http://sfmagazine.com/technotes/march-2018-metoo-in-accounting/
