<ul><li>The greatest barriers to women participating in the workforce have been the disproportionate burden of caregiving.</li><li>Two out of three caregivers in the U.S. are women, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meaning they regularly provide support to children, adults, or someone with a disability</li><li>During the COVID-19 pandemic, 44% of women gained additional caregiving responsibilities compared to 37% of men.</li></ul>

More Remote And Hybrid Work Means More Inclusion

<ul><li>Companies are offering hundreds or even thousands of dollars for new employees just to sign on.</li><li>Wage growth is evident across the U.S. labor market.</li><li>New hires are getting a greater share of the pie.</li><li>Since September 2020, wage growth for job switchers has doubled.</li><li>If women continue to search for new opportunities at a higher rate, they may make some gains in closing the gender pay gap.</li></ul>

The War For Talent

In 2022, women are expected to earn 82 cents for every $1 men earn - a figure unchanged from 2021 and just 5 cents more than 2016.When you combine the upward mobility of young women with greater pay transparency in the workplace, skills-based pay, and permanent hybrid work models, the future is starting to look brighter for mending the gap.

Mind The(Gender Pay) Gap

The pandemic has already taken a disparate toll on women’s career paths. From February 2020 through April 2022, the economy experienced a net loss of over 1.4 million jobs According to estimates from the National Women’s Law Center, women have accounted for more than two-thirds (68.5%) of those job losses. 
With companies now offering attractive pay increases to win the war for talent and lure in job candidates—a move that potentially disadvantages incumbent employees—the gender pay gap may be stretched even further if companies are not mindful of compensation practices.

The Gender Pay Gap

A shift to skills-based compensation can benefit women, in particular, by levelling the playing field and setting objective "rates" for specific skill sets.Historical data from Pew Research Center highlights the pivotal role skill development plays in closing the gender gap.From 1980-2018, the inflation-adjusted average hourly wage for women increased 45% compared to 14% for men.

Pay For Skills

Even when a pay transparency law simply requires job postings to include salary information, it raises the stakes on pay equity by fundamentally changing how companies manage hiring and promotions.Companies will have to maintain justifiable compensation structures, update job descriptions more often, and document their compensation decisions.

Shifting to Pay Transparency

Sunshine Farzan observes that a sharper focus on pay transparency, skill-based compensation, and hybrid working models—can each help bolster women’s pay.  
