Women in the US are receiving less in bonus pay than men, which is widening the country’s gender pay gap.
A new report conducted by the ADP Research Institute revealed that women earn on average 18% less in base salary than men. But the differential jumps to 31% in terms of what men and women receive for their annual bonuses.
According to the ADP study, women aged 20 to 30 start their careers with around the same level of pay as men, but within six years they earn less. When bonuses are included, women's bonus-to-base ratio is 21% of what men receive.
Newly-hired women aged 40 to 50 who earn between US$40,000 and US$60,000 receive an average bonus of 8.5%, while for men, the figure is more like 11.4%, ADP found.
Ahu Yilirmaz, co-head of the ADP Research Institute, said: “By studying both salary and bonus pay between genders at the time of hire and after six years of tenure within the same firms, we found that the overall pay gap between men and women worsens due to disparity in bonuses."
The Wall Street Journal also found that women at financial institutions in the UK such as Goldman Sachs receive median bonuses that are 67.7% lower than men’s.
In a recent interview, Beth Steinberg, chief people officer at Zenefits, told HR Dive that executive leadership buy-in was necessary to eliminate pay disparities and that tackling the problem would require action by those in the C-suite. HR practitioners could also help by reviewing their organisations' pay practices, working with managers to flag up any disparities and conducting periodic audits, she added.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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Gender pay gap exists at 78% of UK organisations
Women in the US are receiving less in bonus pay than men, which is widening the country’s gender pay gap.
A new report conducted by the ADP Research Institute revealed that women earn on average 18% less in base salary than men. But the differential jumps to 31% in terms of what men and women receive for their annual bonuses.
According to the ADP study, women aged 20 to 30 start their careers with around the same level of pay as men, but within six years they earn less. When bonuses are included, women's bonus-to-base ratio is 21% of what men receive.
Newly-hired women aged 40 to 50 who earn between US$40,000 and US$60,000 receive an average bonus of 8.5%, while for men, the figure is more like 11.4%, ADP found.
Ahu Yilirmaz, co-head of the ADP Research Institute, said: “By studying both salary and bonus pay between genders at the time of hire and after six years of tenure within the same firms, we found that the overall pay gap between men and women worsens due to disparity in bonuses."
The Wall Street Journal also found that women at financial institutions in the UK such as Goldman Sachs receive median bonuses that are 67.7% lower than men’s.
In a recent interview, Beth Steinberg, chief people officer at Zenefits, told HR Dive that executive leadership buy-in was necessary to eliminate pay disparities and that tackling the problem would require action by those in the C-suite. HR practitioners could also help by reviewing their organisations' pay practices, working with managers to flag up any disparities and conducting periodic audits, she added.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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Gender pay gap exists at 78% of UK organisations
