Penny wise, pound foolish
Door Nelsy Salden-Rebbens
In my twenty years of experience, I’ve taken quite a few motivation tests. To be completely honest, I’d find it rather upsetting if the results showed that financial reward was more important to me than, say, personal development.
The belief I hold dear, however, is simply this: personal development comes first; financial reward will follow naturally.
The first generation
The more I look into gender differences, the more I find myself wondering whether this is a matter of learned behaviour. After all, education and personal development are areas to which the women who came before me had less access than I did.
I am the first generation, of both the men and women in my family, for whom university was an option. An opportunity that I seized, without it being a particularly conscious choice.
I’m also part of the first generation for whom looking after the children who were on the way became a topic of conversation. Something you could decide together at the kitchen table. My mother was actually made redundant at the end of her pregnancy. My mother-in-law faced the same prospect when she got married.
Golden cages, golden wings
And compensation in the financial sector is generally good. In the corridors, I’ve heard more talk of ‘golden cages’ than of people leaving because of their pay. I’ve never let ‘golden cages’ hold me back. However, I may well have been tempted by ‘golden wings’.
Development comes first; financial rewards follow.
The idea that my male colleague might earn more is something that has actually never crossed my mind. It’s a case of: you know it happens, but you don’t expect it to affect your own pocket.
The hard figures show that the financial sector has the widest pay gaps between men and women. It is therefore not inconceivable that these pay gaps have affected me too.
What you don’t see won’t change
Fortunately, more and more attention is being paid to this issue. A number of pioneers are already actively publicising what they are doing to reduce the pay gap within their organisations. Legislation is due to come into force next year that will enforce greater pay transparency.
I believe in transparency. It is no coincidence that, in my work as a change agent, I have always found that what you cannot or do not want to see cannot be changed. The reverse is often true as well, though not always. And a bit of pressure in the form of legislation can sometimes help to drive change.
Penny wise, pound foolish
But even then, there will still be loopholes, whether intentional or unintentional. Which arguments for pay gaps or slower pay rises do we use more often for women than for men? Arguments that seem quite reasonable at first glance, but which, on closer inspection, may not be so self-evident after all.
And how often does it remain an unspoken topic, because it is still a sensitive issue?
Penny wise, pound foolish.
The pay gaps are paid for elsewhere.
Therefore, let us not only make our salaries transparent, but also take a critical look at the arguments we use to justify pay differences. Because what may seem like a sensible choice at first glance could end up costing us much more in the long run.
On 9 November, we will continue our discussion on this topic at the event ‘Equal Pay: from transparency to transformation’, organised by DNB and WIFS.