The Missing Link: How Manager Relationships Contribute to the Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap has persisted far too long. Though it has narrowed—in 2018, women earned 82 cents for every dollar men earned—researchers estimate it will still take at least another 50 years to close the gap.
That means that on average a young woman entering the workforce today may miss out on more than $400,000 across the course of her career. Research shows the cumulative career impact for Black women is nearly $950,000 and for Latinas is about $1.1 million.
These are staggering sums. Fifty years is too long to wait.
A range of issues impact the pay gap, from occupational segregation to differences in hours, caregiving bias to discrimination and harassment. Overall, in the same jobs, women are paid less than men in 97 percent of occupations. And where do workers experience much of this? In their manager relationships. Managers are the single most important factor determining hiring and firing decisions, hours, performance reviews, time off and flexibility determinations, benefits, and compensation. Yet, the impact of managers has been missing from the pay gap conversation.
At Empower Work, we have unique visibility into the challenges people, particularly women and women of color, face at work. Our text line has supported more than 3,000 people through some of the most difficult situations in their working lives, over 76% of whom identify as women and 56% of whom identify as a person of color.
We have a real-time view into the day-to-day mechanisms that impact how women feel valued at work. We believe it’s critical to listen to the lived experience of workers. Our data shows that employee and manager relationships have a direct tie to the gender pay gap.
For Equal Pay Day 2020, we’re releasing our first analysis of 1,300 anonymized conversations that provide evidence of how managers impact pay equity and overall experience in the workforce. We hope that highlighting these patterns, and including actionable recommendations, will further conversations and solutions to the gender pay gap.
“Our data shows that employee and manager relationships have a direct tie to the gender pay gap.”
Managers are the central driver of employee experience
The most common topic in our conversations is relationship with managers. Nearly 40% of people who use Empower Work cited the relationship with their manager as central to their situation, or indicated their manager as a key element. Given the breadth of the conversations and industries we support, this number is huge; the next most cited factor, legal, accounts for only 15% of discussions.
Existing research has demonstrated the link between managers and performance, including profitability, productivity, quality, lower turnover, and less absenteeism. But too little attention has focused on employee’s experience with managers and how that perpetuates and exacerbates the pay gap.
It is in this direct relationship where biases manifest. It’s firmly established that unconscious bias is part of how brains work. We’ve heard stories of every kind, including discrimination and harassment. The most pervasive, however, are more subtle.
“A huge engine of inequity that women feel is the subjective relationship of their manager.”
By talking with so many women about their work experiences and what is most difficult about the situations, we get a unique view into how bias is playing out. We have identified four key trends we see in how inequity is manifesting in manager relationships.
Employees Don’t Feel Treated Fairly By Managers
Analyzing conversations—looking both at the data and the words themselves—we’re struck by the vital importance of being treated fairly. Whether it comes to performance reviews, pay, shift scheduling, or accommodations, workers expressed that they experienced discrimination, harassment, unethical treatment, bullying, or being undervalued in 37% of manager-related conversations.
Within conversations about compensation specifically, the top driver workers expressed for their own situation of pay inequity was gender, followed by race and age. Again and again, we see workers express that the principle of fairness is important for themselves and for everyone, even if they don’t benefit in the short term.
I've recently had two outside hires put into positions above me without being told the positions were open.
There are people that were hired after me with little to no experience that make more than me.
I'm struggling with my manager regarding getting a promotion at work. He hasn't given clear feedback on what steps I can take to get to the promotion level
I am the top performer on the team, and even my [male] coworker on a performance improvement plan with no college degree makes more than me.
I do know that these cases are hard to prove and can end up costing a lot of money. Part of me just wants to let it go and move on. But the fact that it was so unethical and wrong, what they did to me, makes me feel like I have to at least try
Painfully, women who go above and beyond to prove their value report being met with disappointment when it comes to actually getting tangible results for their efforts.
I'm frequently asked to take part in "stretch assignments" that require extra work at no compensation, and when I applied for a job that utilized two of these assignments as its main requirements, I was told other applicants were a better fit.
Managers are key here. Understanding and training on the effects of gender and racial bias in workplace dynamics and decisions can help managers provide fair reviews and promotions. In addition, ensuring managers are transparent and communicative about policies and expectations–and held accountable–can shift employee experience.
There’s a trust gap
Trust is vital in relationships. In particular with managers, trust opens the possibility to broach important topics like performance, pay, promotions, mentorship, or time off for caregiving. Lack of trust leads to significant negative individual outcomes emotionally and economically, as well as business outcomes.
I can't trust my manager. I think the way he handled this was totally inappropriate. He's a new manager and he can be really aggressive. He often says things that offend me....I want him to support me rather than tear me down.
...managers just make decisions based on their perceptions.
I cannot even talk to my team manager. I tried talking to him once about how I am excluded from the meetings…and he blurted out to everybody in the meetings about my complaint.
People connecting with Empower Work often strive to build or rebuild trust as they understand the impact that trust has on decisions related to their employment.
I had a great manager (personality wise) but he'd say yes to everything which isn't what I needed. I needed honesty and someone who would fight for me.
I would like to establish support, trust, and teamwork. I want her to believe in my efforts for overall success and efficiency.
There's an opportunity for managers to bridge the trust gap in order to make sure employees feel comfortable coming to them about issues that affect their career advancement and earning potential. That can include investing in listening to and acknowledging people they manage, providing support that meets both employee and business needs.
Managers are often cited as part of a larger negative work environment
Manager behavior usually does not exist in a vacuum. Managers play an important role in combating or perpetuating larger negative environments.
When managers are a factor, workers are 50% more likely to cite an overall negative work environment. It makes sense: managers’ authority means that their behaviors are impacting not just individuals, but teams and workplaces. The result of that is that managers’ behaviors–including their biases–have a magnified impact not just in the direct report relationship, but across teams.
My supervisor is a workaholic, a perfectionist and a control freak. I report directly to him and he acts like I'm an indentured servant.
When we asked for help most times we were laughed at.
My boss got more work too and more stressed. His stress became my stress and he started to get rude and bullying. Eventually that culture spread and the entire company is like that now.
The flip side of this is positive: managers have the capacity to have an outsized positive impact on individuals and their environments.
[Another person] is also a part time manager. she's been helping me fix this situation because she knows how unfair it is to me
When managers and the internal culture are more respectful and approachable, there is more trust, a sense of fairness, and employees can thrive.
The emotional toll adds up
People reach out to Empower Work often because they’re feeling stuck, unsure, at a breaking point. They want to take action but feel like there is little that they can do, especially if they’ve already taken a range of actions and felt no change. Showing the toll these relationships take, 35% of people experiencing manager—related issues reported or described significant levels of anxiety or stress. They also reported emotions like frustration, a breakdown of confidence, and fear, particularly fear of job loss.
This has direct ties to the gender pay gap as we see women taking time off from work due to stress (often unpaid), leaving a job with no next job lined up, or entering a new job search with a confidence gap. We also see that financial pressures–paying student loans, rent, or childcare–add urgency to make things work in a current job, escalating a sense of stress.
I am overwhelmed I've been crying on and off worrying about how I'm gonna take care of my son and bills
I said you don't care about me and I quit — she said I accept your resignation there is the door
I know my only option is to leave because they refuse change and think their bad managing is just fine. But I apply and get nothing. I'm a good worker and I care. I don't get why I can't find something else better.
Negative manager relationships are harmful to any team member. But unconscious bias and lack of diverse leadership often reinforce the status quo.
Recommendations
How can we collectively make sure managers, the most influential component of employee experience shift from being a contributor to the pay gap to a contributor to pay equity?
We see simple, common sense solutions. Our conversations provide data on what employees value in a manager and in a team. They provide the opportunity for a better path forward.
That data is clear: workers want managers who are trustworthy, fair, and authentic. Managers who have strong communication and listening skills, and who are empathetic and champions for their workers. Essentially: managers with whom they feel mutual respect.
And while managers are the key link we’re focusing on, there are things we can all do to build positive cultures and to influence those who have the most power to generate positive change in our management structures.
There are simple steps that each of us can take as individuals, managers, and decision-makers.
Are you an employee?
Connect with coworkers: Building trusted relationships positively impacts individuals and teams. Coworkers can help with support, collaboration, and collective action. Specifically, salary sharing with one another can bring better understanding of pay in a specific workplace.
Know your resources: More resources from salary data to legal resources to career counseling are available now than ever. Explore market rate, internal policies, and options if you’re experiencing compensation discrimination so you know what’s available to you. If you’re unsure or need more support, reach out to Empower Work.
Negotiate and advocate: Successfully negotiating salary and benefits can not only lead to tangible outcomes, it can help build confidence and new skills. It’s not on you to fix the pay gap or overcome discrimination. Typically pay is where employers and managers have the most latitude though–which has drawbacks and benefits.
Are you a manager?
Invest in yourself: Take full advantage of any resources available to you through your employer such as unconscious bias training or an offer of mentorship by a more senior manager. Explore resources that push your thinking whether it’s books like The Person You Mean to Be, TED talks, and/or coaching.
Use your data: Does your company do reviews and employee engagement surveys? These can be a treasure trove of information, especially if employees trust the results are anonymous. (Are your results sunny and you’re suspicious? Follow that instinct—it may well indicate a lack of trust in confidentiality.)
Work to be the best manager you’ve had or you wish you had: You know the things you’ve valued most of your best manager. Or what things that frustrated you about your worst? Define how—specifically—will you make sure you’re modeling positive manager behaviors and not copying the negative ones. Be real and accepting of your own failures.
Are you a decision-maker?
Building a workplace culture where workers can thrive benefits employers and employees.
At a company level, the following are four simple steps every business can take to foster strong management and close the gender wage gap:
Measure what matters. Don’t just measure manager effectiveness by what they deliver in the short term. Measure them on how they lead. It’s an investment in the long term.
Invest in training management skills: All too often, being promoted to manager means a new compliance training and little else. Management requires a skillset that can be learned. Train your managers in how to listen, how to lead, and how to empower people.
Scan for systemic bias. An array of tools are readily available to analyze your business for bias. From checking each promotion cycle that you don’t have skews in favor of certain groups of employees to reviewing wage data and conducting regular pay audits to analyzing performance or hiring data for signs of bias. There are also tools to gauge employee feelings of trust, inclusion, and equity.
Culture happens accidentally or deliberately. Great company cultures are built with great deliberation. To reach equity, companies must invest in their leaders and managers, and hold them to the highest standards of upholding the culture they want to build.
The gender pay gap is a critical indicator that there are still many structural and social factors that need to change. To address it, we need to take actions on all levels–from policy to individual action.
At Empower Work, we’re hopeful amidst hardship. We believe that change is possible. We see it in the courage, conviction, and strength of those who reach out to us, making their best choices in imperfect realities. We see it in the dedicated volunteers who build vitally needed skills to support those who reach out to us–and share how they use them in their workplaces every day. We see it in the companies who connect about training, eager to bring new practices and approaches into their workplaces. We see it in the patterns in our data that highlight the mechanisms of inequity and the potential levers for change.
We can all contribute to closing the gender pay gap. What’s one action you will take right now?
Methodology
Empower Work analyzed both structured and unstructured data for this report from 1,300 conversations in 2018-2019. The structured data is composed of tags applied by staff to conversations using a standard set of rules. These allow us to scan for trends in the data even when people use different words to describe the same concepts. We assess these with standard statistical tools. We have pulled worker voice examples and anonymized them to respect confidentiality.
Acknowledgements
This report was co-authored by Jaime-Alexis Fowler, Founder and Executive Director, and Val Sanders, Director of Training and Volunteers. Thank you to the thoughtful input and guidance of reviewers including Alexis Charles, Emily Kramer, Heather McLaughlin, and one of our Empower Work users. We are grateful for the philanthropic support of generous supporters who help our text line be free and accessible, as well as contribute to larger research.
About Empower Work
Empower Work is a national nonprofit on a mission to build healthier, more equitable workplaces where employees are valued, supported, and empowered. When work actually works for people, individual’s economic and emotional well-being increases. And there is a ripple effect: communities, companies, the economy, and our democracy, thrive.