The One Thing Silicon Valley, Hollywood And Your Office All Have In Common

Most of us are aware of the gender wage gap that affects the American workforce. But what we don’t know is that this discrimination isn’t just aimed toward the working mothers of the middle class. It’s happening in Hollywood and Silicon Valley too.

The Sony hacks gained international attention from the release of the movie “The Interview.” The release of salary information for Hollywood film stars revealed a surprising and significant wage gap. After “American Hustle,” Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence reportedly only received 7% of the film’s profits, while their male co-stars Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale received 9%. Luckily, the women of Hollywood are doing something about it. Charlize Theron, who starred in “Snow White and the Huntsman,” negotiated for salary equality for the 2016 sequel after she found out she was making less than her co-star Chris Hemsworth.

Not only are women being underpaid, but they are underrepresented. In Silicon Valley, the tech startup capital of the world, women make up only 11% of executives. Women make up 10% of directors, 10% of committee members and 8% of committee chairs in the Silicon Valley 150, the Bay Area’s top tech companies. What’s even worse is that in some cases, male Silicon Valley workers can earn up to 73% more than females with the same skills in the tech industry. And there are millions of cases like these, in every industry and country.

The question is, why is this still happening? The facts have been verified, researched and explained to professionals responsible for compensation for decades. Why aren’t they listening?

I believe that the gender wage gap is an act of subconscious discrimination, and everyone is guilty of contributing to it. As Daniel Roberts wrote for Fortune, “The problem with unconscious bias is that it is often invisible to managers; they may rationalize inequities and fail to consider that their biases – unchallenged assumptions – may be influencing how they set employee pay.”

Eliminating The Wage Gap in Your Workplace

If you’re a young entrepreneur, there are many things you can do to help reduce and even end the wage gap in your industry. For example, it’s common for young women to be advised to negotiate hard and early in both the interviewing process and during performance reviews, which is a great idea for any young professional. Here are a few other ideas:

• Business owners/CEOs: Don’t wait until the last minute to create compensation models and if/when you divert from them, ask yourself why. Keep in mind that in many states, it’s illegal to ask or suggest that your employees keep their pay information to themselves. Some companies, like Buffer, have implemented total pay transparency.
• Managers: Work with employees who are parents (both mothers and fathers) to support them and keep them productive. Try viewing them as a training investment. You’ve already invested in helping them learn about the company. Don’t wear them out with too many responsibilities before they’re ready to come back to work full time.

Wanna hear the other two ideas? Head over to Forbes.com…

Maren Hogan

Maren Hogan is CEO of Red Branch and general Bad@$$

Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. Maren started Red Branch Media and, before she hired all the smiling faces you see below, she ran it on her own. In marketing for over 15 years, she has deep experience in strategic campaigns and a long-term, results-based operational approach.