For many years, gender inequality has been an issue plaguing every industry. According to the Office for National Statistics, the gender pay gap among full-timers in the United Kingdom increased by 7.7% in 2023.
Particularly in Human Resources (HR), female employees make less than men. Even though women outnumber men in this industry, there’s still a lingering pay gap. For instance, female HR professionals make 11% less than men.
Thankfully, recent innovations in HR have paved the way for equal pay and opportunity in the workplace. These technologies have ensured that women in HR and other departments get the best out of their employment without facing discrimination.
In this blog, we will discuss how HR technology can reduce gender inequality and the pay gap.
How Can HR Technology Help Women?
According to Zendesk, companies should invest in HR technology that aims to create a great employee experience for every department. The software must ensure satisfaction among female employees and help with HR operations.
With this, companies can gauge a female employee’s sentiment by allowing them to be open about their needs. This tool allows women to truthfully voice their opinions without fear of retaliation.
It can support equality by using data-driven approaches to ensure pay transparency. Moreover, HR tech can compare performances by monitoring and tracking the progress of all employees, irrespective of their gender or age. The tools can also offer flexible work arrangements based on a woman’s needs and responsibilities.
An HR help desk software is one such tool that can assist with all of that. With this, companies can improve employee satisfaction, enhance the onboarding process, and boost team productivity. It can also help with proactive issue resolution by offering actionable insights.
Therefore, organizations can use this technology to get rid of unconscious gender bias by addressing employee complaints. With access to payroll analysis, the HR team can personalize pay packages. Women in HR can also use this tool to create pay transparency in the company.
3 Ways to Use HR Tech to Address Gender Pay Gaps
Bain & Company was recognized for ensuring optimal gender equality in their workforce. To reach such a level, organizations need to achieve complete wage equality.
Reports suggest that only 68.10% of the global gender gap has been closed. With the current advancements, complete equality in workplaces will take another 132 years.
Thankfully, HR technology can somewhat help increase that pace and address gender bias in the following ways:
#1. Pay Transparency
In several companies, discussing pay packages is considered taboo. That’s why women don’t know what their male counterparts get paid.
Thankfully, with proper technology, the HR department can achieve pay transparency. Due to that, they can have open communication with every employee and offer equal pay to women.
These tools also have predictive analysis features that can help generate reports outlining the industry compensation standards for women. With this data, female employees can comprehend the company’s payment strategy based on cost-of-living ratios.
The HR department should also add pay information to job descriptions. Doing so will promote an inclusive culture that speaks of transparency and attracts female candidates.
#2. Remove Biases
HR teams don’t understand whether managers are making discriminatory judgments or not. In most cases, women don’t speak up because of the fear of losing their jobs.
That’s where HR tech comes in. With it, the HR department can gain insight into each team and check for race or gender bias. For instance, they can check the compensation allocation process to determine any pay gaps.
HR tech also offers digital performance management to generate data regardless of gender. Therefore, companies can focus on goal-setting for all employees without discrimination. Removing such biases from top management using technology can also help reduce the pay gap and offer equal opportunities.
#3. Personalize Benefits
Everyone will have different remuneration package preferences. For instance, women will value workplace flexibility more than men. However, companies find it hard to determine these factors. That’s why they don’t consider these while offering a pay package.
Thankfully, HR tools can help in this situation. Companies can generate personalized benefits with features like predictive analytics. These technologies use artificial intelligence (AI) to offer vital information that matches the values of specific employees and their expectations.
With this, HR departments can identify female workers who require incentive boosts based on their performance. These benefits will improve retention rates and eventually reduce the gender pay gap.
In summary, women are becoming more ambitious due to the workplace flexibility offered by innovative HR technology. However, they still face many obstacles. That’s why McKinsey recommends tracking the outcomes of women’s representation and creating a flexible workplace.
Most HR leaders believe that focusing on equal pay is crucial to their company’s future. One way to do that is to use HR technology to ensure everyone’s voices are heard. With this, companies can improve productivity, ensure equality, and gain actionable insights into payrolls.