Why individual effort doesn't solve gender gaps

A CHRO asked me recently. “𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲. 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐩?” My answer is always the same 👇 A policy = 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭. Your pay gap = 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. That’s why the new Naukri.com survey didn’t surprise me. Just disappointed me. In my work as a Leadership & Diversity consultant, I see the stories behind these numbers every single day. → 51% 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 → 27% 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐬 It’s not just data. It’s the 𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. It’s the 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 “𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥” blocking promotions. Here’s the real issue: The problem isn’t the 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. It’s the 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭. We still treat a career break as a 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. Not a 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 that builds resilience and perspective. Fixing this isn’t about vague promises. It’s about 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜, 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: ✅ Ruthless pay equity audits → Don’t just check roles, check cohorts. ✅ Decouple promotions from facetime → Reward outcomes, not presence. ✅ On-ramping programs → Actively reintegrate returning parents & caregivers. The gap won’t close when leaders point to the policy on the wall. It will close when they interrogate the numbers on their payroll. For leaders here: I’m not asking if you’re committed. I’m asking 👇 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲? Let’s share what’s actually working. #Careers #MoveWithMyah #collab

I don't like about New Year's Resolutions and the January ecosystem of self-improvement: For women, it is the peak of the Empowerment Trap. Yes, women have agency, autonomy, doors open to us that few women in history have had. But so much of what many women are struggling with can't be fixed by individual effort because the problem doesn't stem from individual behavior. Economic policy has never tried to make women and men economically equal, and it shows. Women individually take on the burdens of public failure: no right to paid sick days, paid medical leave, paid family leave, the right to flexible arrangements, the right to part-time work, or free childcare. I call them Hummingbirds. "Without basic public policy to support them in the economy, women can’t move forward. This is as far as we can go on our own. So we just flutter here, with furious effort to support our families, communities, and the economy and yet suspended in the air. Women today are hummingbirds—constantly in motion, moving fiercely, just to stay in place. Not frozen but vigorously floating, fighting to stay still." Read more on my newsletter. https://lnkd.in/eEynsD8S

"New research by Berkeley Haas Professor Laura Kray, PhD shows the belief that women don’t ask for higher pay is not only outdated, but it may be hurting pay equity efforts. Contrary to popular belief, professional women now report negotiating their salaries more often than men, but they get turned down more often." Sigh. Early in my career, I learned I was getting paid less than others on my team who were doing the same job and shared the same qualifications. I approached my boss about the issue and was told that the time to address this was when my contract was up for renewal. When that time came, I sat down with the Global Head of HR of the company to discuss the pay inequity and to negotiate a salary increase. Her response: "You can decide whether or not you want to work here. If it doesn't work for you, you can leave." I was shocked. At the time (and for a number of years after), I blamed myself for failing to advocate for myself and for failing to negotiate for what I was worth. Now, I am able to see that I did not fail myself. The policies of the system failed me. The culture failed me. Leadership failed me. As this article points out, placing the blame and responsibility on women to negotiate away the gender pay gap weakens efforts for change. We need to start highlighting, supporting and investing in the companies, cultures and leaders out that who are taking the initiative to create change without putting the onus on women. Who would you like to highlight today? #genderequality #paygap #payequity #womeninleadership #womenempoweringwomen https://lnkd.in/effVnAte