Compliance Week’s recent “Inside the Mind of the CCO” survey confirmed what has been reported for years: Women are paid less than men for doing the same work (17 percent so, according to this year’s poll of 120 compliance officers in the top job).
Among the driving factors for this disparity cited in a recent Wall Street Journal report are: penalties for professionals who interrupt their careers for children or elder care; a tendency for women to choose lower-paying occupations, occupational specialties, and different work schedules; women being less likely to ask for more pay; and inherent bias—salary differences that cannot be accounted for after auditing logical compensable factors such as education, experience, and job performance. Some companies are taking action to identify and fix pay equity, but many lag behind.
