Why Companies' Attempts to Close the Gender Pay Gap Often Fail

Margrét and Henrike recently spoke with Included founder Stephen Frost during one of their Friday morning Coffee Talks.

On Friday September 17th 2021 (from 11:00 to 12:30 Paris Time), the Government of Iceland and OECD will be hosting an online-event where Margrét Vilborg, one of PayAnalytics' founders, will be speaking. After registering (click here to register), you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

In this talk presented at Advania's Fall Conference 2021 Dr. Margrét Vilborg Bjarnadóttir sheds light on the steps needed to ensure the fair application of AI in HR and discusses the application of data-informed decision support in the pay equity space.

We are proud to have been added as the 47th member of EPIC (Equal Pay International Coalition) where we join members ranging from governments and international organizations to private sector initiatives.

The unjustified pay gap between men and women is still present, and it seems that it will not go away without some focused efforts. Although countless studies and reports show that the gap is there, many still do not believe it impacts their own organisation. The EU Commission is increasingly communicating that the issue must be addressed. Some countries have begun the journey and have insights to share. Data analysis to determine the gap and structured implementation of measures to close the gap is increasingly used.

Dr Margrét Vilborg Bjarnadóttir will participate in this important event on the 29 June.

Margrét Bjarnadóttir, prof. at the University of Maryland and founder of PayAnalytics, and Henrike Von Platen, founder and CEO of the FPI Fair Pay Innovation Lab in Berlin, have been having their coffee together on Fridays since early 2020.

California Pay Data Reporting (SB 973) requires large employers to report pay and specific other data to the DFEH (Department of Fair Employment and Housing) by March 31, 2021, and annually after that.

Two years ago, PayAnalytics won the Wharton People Analytics Startup competition. This year, our founders are back, with our scientific collaborator Dr. David Ross as the winners of the White Paper competition.

PayAnalytics welcomes Víðir Ragnarsson as Head of Consulting.

Icelandic maker of biosimilar-medicines and PayAnalytics user, Alvotech, has received an Equal Pay Certification in Iceland. Following the Icelandic certification they will set the focus on fulfilling the same standards as set by the Icelandic legislation for their global operations. PayAnalytics congratulates Alvotech on the success.

On the 17th of March, companies will be awarded based on the Universal Fair Pay Check. This international certification measures equal pay performance in a coordinated way between companies in different countries.

Dr. Margret Bjarnadottir was featured as Equal Pay Game Changer in this year's Equal Pay Day campaign in Germany.

En la conferencia se analiza la nueva situación laboral que la publicación del Real Decreto 901/2020 y 902/2020 del 13 de octubre dejará en las empresas españolas. Así mismo, se examinan los problemas que derivan de estas normativas y la manera en la que PayAnalytics los aborda y proporciona soluciones rápidas, eficaces y sencillas.

Companies in Spain are now obligated to take action to ensure equal pay for work of equal value. DireACTIVAS, one of our partners in Spain, wrote an article (in Spanish) on the new legislation and the potential impact it will have on equality in Spain. We are happy to assist Spanish companies in fulfilling the requirements of the new legislation - and our solution is of course also in Spanish!

Come and join us virtually for a conversation about equal pay: the fast changing legislation around the world, the role of analysis and data driven decision support, the equal pay journey and key levers to drive change - all packed into 90 minutes.

Margrét Bjarnadóttir from PayAnalytics will participate in a Reykjavik Global Forum 2020 digital session on Wednesday 11th November 09:30 UTC.

The name of the event is A Fair Diagnosis: It’s time to close the wage gap - FPI Lab and you can register using the registration link below.

The Berlin based Fair Pay Innovation Lab (FPI) is piloting the Universal Fair Pay Check, a standardized international method of ensuring fair pay. FPI has chosen PayAnalytics as its partner for the Universal Fair Pay Check.

Nordic Women in Tech Awards has nominated one of our founders, Margrét Bjarnadóttir, in the category Entrepreneur of the year. We are super proud of Margrét and thankful for the nomination!

At the People Analytics & Future of Work conference in San Francisco last February Vidir Ragnarsson from Reykjavik Energy gave an insightful talk on how Reykjavik Energy tackled the task of measuring and closing their Gender Pay Gap within a few years.

In a recent blog post for PRCA PayAnalytics Co-founder and Chairman Margrét Bjarnadóttir explains in a nutshell how data and analytics are essential to the process of closing pay gaps – and keeping them closed. She explains, among other things, the two types of pay gaps most commonly mentioned in the press and the difference between the two. The blogpost also embeds a video where Margrét amongst others discusses the role of ethics and fairness when closing pay gaps. The discussion was a part of the PRCA Ethics month.

The World Economic Forum estimates that it will take over 200 years to close the gender pay gap. No one should have the patience to wait that long. How can we accelerate change? The answer may lay in data and models with a good dose of transparency.

The journey starts with gathering the data and understanding the pay structure. Then companies move on to identifying areas for improvement and eliminating unexplained demographic pay gaps through corrective action—in other words, ensuring equal pay for equal work.

The New Business Venture Fund has invested $525,000 in the software company PayAnalytics.

PayAnalytics has developed an equal pay cloud solution, and has grown rapidly in recent years. Its solution is already helping over 50 companies and organizations in Iceland close the gender pay gap, employing a total of 30,000 staff, or about 14% of the Icelandic labor market.

It is amazing to see one of our partners, the insurance company Sjóvá, perform so well. A company with 60% women on the board of directors and a female chair.

GEMMAQ rates companies in global markets based on how gender balanced their leadership is and is building a corporate gender equality and diversity rating and indexing system.

In a recent article, World-at-work set the spotlight on Reykjavík Energy and their pay equity work. Pay equity has been top-of-mind for Reykjavik Energy for quite some time, even before the topic was regularly making headlines.

The National University Hospital of Iceland has signed a contract to use PayAnalytics for their equal pay analyses.

Dr. Margret Bjarnadottir (@mvilborg2) from @payanalytics recently wrote a guest feature for @insideBigData about addressing demographic #PayGaps with Data-driven Solutions.

Demographic pay gaps, including the gender pay gap, are the result of more complex factors than just a desire to minimize payroll expenses. They stem from unconscious biases and processes that are better suited to one group compared to another. And, as multiple executives have found out, good intentions and “mindfulness” are not enough to eliminate the gaps.

Copenhagen Business School @CBScph recently published a "How I did it" story on @PayAnalytics. Read the full story on the CBS website.

"Our goal was to build an easy-to-use application that puts analytics in the hands of HR managers. We have created a web platform that enables users to walk through the process of statistically measuring their pay gaps."

Vidir discusses the ways to close the gender pay gap at Reykjavik Energy, using PayAnalytics software with journalists at Wirtschaftswoche.

Jon Henley, Guardian's Europe correspondent takes a look at how the Icelandic legislation has changed to combat the gender pay gap. One of the people cited in the article is the CEO of Reykjavik Energy. Reykjavik Energy has used PayAnalytics' software in their efforts to close the pay gap. We are proud to be part of their gender lens.