Scholars Provide a Blueprint for Ending the Gender Pay Gap in Organizations

A new study by scholars at the University of Florida, the University of Maryland, and Villanova University in Pennsylvania, found that businesses can close gender pay gaps, reward high performance and improve their compensation strategy by identifying the true source of pay inequity and fairly allocating raises to the most underpaid women.

This new approach developed by the authors analyzes how much men are rewarded for a given factor – say, their education level – and compares it to how much women are rewarded for that same factor. The system then repeats this process for each element that should be driving pay at the firm. If there is an inequality, the analysis can then rank employees by how much they are underpaid regarding these factors.

“Then, taking into consideration a firm’s budget for raise allocations, the method developed by our team allocates raises starting with the people who are most disadvantaged and stops when one of two things happen: You close the pay gap or you run out of money,” said David Gaddis Ross, a professor in the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business and coa-author of the study.

If a business can’t afford to close the gender pay gap immediately, the researchers found that applying the analysis over several years can close the disparity over time and can also help companies that have closed their pay gaps keep them closed. The same method can address disparities in pay along the lines of race, religion, and other demographic factors.

“Irrespective of the gender pay gap, many of the firms we’ve worked with have found they weren’t achieving the goals they set out to achieve with their stated compensation policies. By applying this system, they’re able to enact a compensation plan that does what they always wanted it to do,” Professor Ross said.

 

Related Articles

Latest News

Data Shows High Attrition Rates for Women in STEM Degree Programs

For women who began their four-year college career in a STEM discipline, 14 percent dropped out of college and 32 percent switched to a non-STEM major before earning their degree.

Monique Guillory Named Ninth President of Dillard University

Dr. Guillory has served as Dillard University's interim president for the past seven months. Her background includes over three decades of higher education administration experience.

Lynne Coy-Organ Is the First Woman President of Husson University

Lynne Coy-Organ has been named the first woman president of Husson University in Maine. She has served as the university's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for the past 15 years.

Donna Hedgepath Will Be the First Woman President of Wayland Baptist University

Current provost of Campbellsville University in Kentucky, Donna Hedgepath, has been named president of Wayland Baptist University in Texas, making her the first woman to be selected for the position.

Three Women Scholars Appointed to Provost Positions

The new provosts are Elizabeth Dumont at the University of California, Merced, Marguerite Giguette at Xavier University in New Orleans, and Margaret Brown Marsden at Midwestern State University in Texas.

MOSDOH – Dean of the Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health

The dean serves as the chief academic and administrative officer for MOSDOH, leading a mission-driven dental school known for innovation, community partnerships, and service to the underserved.

Vice President for Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer

The successful candidate will have a strong financial and administrative background and demonstrated ability to excel in a fast-paced, dynamic and complex community college that values integrity, excellence, empowerment, inclusiveness, collaboration and stewardship.

Instructional Professor in Law, Letters, and Society (Open Rank)

The Social Sciences Collegiate Division at the University of Chicago is now accepting applications for a full-time Instructional Professor who will teach in the program in Law, Letters, and Society.

Instructor, Economics

The Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago invites applications for tenure-track faculty positions in Economics at the Instructor position level to begin in the 2025-26 academic year and is renewable for up to three years.

Vice Chancellor for Student Success

The Vice Chancellor for Student Success will be a strategic, student-centered, data-informed, systems thinker who thrives in a fast paced, high-achieving environment.