How Small Businesses Can Make a Big Difference on Equal Pay Day

Whether you’re running a large business or a small one where all the salaries are basically the same, any entrepreneur can pay tribute to Equal Pay Day — simply by making sure not to ignore it.

As noted by the National Committee on Pay Equity, the next Equal Pay Day is scheduled for April 2, 2019, and will be symbolized by the colour red. Why red, you might ask? Well, as any business owner knows, a sure sign of success is being able to keep your finances “in the black.” For many women and those from different ethnic backgrounds, however, the compensation they receive for the work they do effectively puts them “in the red” compared with many of their white male colleagues.

Another way to look at it is from an hourly perspective. Equal Pay Day is held on a Tuesday, for example, because that’s often how far in the next work week a woman would have to work to earn what men earned the previous week. For women of colour, according to the NCPE, the situation can be even worse.

Although Equal Pay Day events have been held since 1996 — which reflects the ongoing and serious nature of this problem — some small businesses might still not be aware of it, nor see any particularly appropriate way in which they should take part. The reality, however, is that gender inequality of any kind affects all businesses, large or small. It can determine who gets hired, who gets promoted, who stays in a job and how they look at the compensation practices of all the companies that surround them. It can definitely affect whether a company looks like a good place to work or not.

If you’ve never formally recognized Equal Pay Day before, 2019 is the perfect year to start. Here are some ideas you could do right away:

Speak out

Many small businesses have managed to build strong channels for communication to their customers. This can include the company’s blog, an email newsletter and social channels such as Twitter and LinkedIn. This represents a valuable opportunity to raise awareness around Equal Pay Day and why it matters.

Think about writing a blog post, for example, of how you approach equal pay in your company, and how you plan to maintain that even as you grow. Or write about the statistics around pay disparities that surprised you, or made you realize how important it is that changes come to businesses in every sector. Use red in your content to reinforce the point. Even a link in your newsletter to the NCPE site or similar resources could help bring the stories of women who deserve equal pay to reach people who might not otherwise hear them.

And of course, it takes very little to like or reshare Equal Pay Day content from other organizations’ social media channels to your own audience, amplifying messages in a way that shows you agree.

Show up

Equal Pay Day events include rallies, discussion forums and other opportunities to connect with people who want to dive deeper into the issues and explore ways to enact change. For the owner of a small businesses to attend, or even send a delegate to represent their firm at one of these events, the impact can be enormous.

You don’t have to limit yourself to in-person opportunities, of course. Look for discussions about Equal Pay Day on social media, and, beyond merely sharing content, actively contribute to the conversation. The more businesses that are visible whenever a topic like equal pay is being debated, the more likely people realize the time to make a difference is long overdue.

Think about how you can “show up” in other ways as well. Some of your customers might be taking steps to recognize Equal Pay Day through events or initiatives of their own. Help is often welcomed, as long as the offer is sincere.

Give

While the ideal outcome of Equal Pay Day is a world in which salaries are consistent across the board regardless of gender or race, there are women in direct financial need today that even a small business can assist.

A donation to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, for instance, can open the doors to women who want to start their own business, learn a new skill or develop their existing ones. This can mean an escape from poverty and a path towards true financial independence.

Learn

Equal Pay Day is a fantastic initiative, but like many special days on the calendar, it’s something that should be discussed and tackled on an ongoing basis.

As they try to grow their operation, bring on talent and seek out customers, small businesses can make a commitment to stay informed on things like the pay gap between men and women. Some tactics include diving into research, reading up on developments in particular companies and organizations, or even looking at how it might be taken up as a cause in industry associations to which they belong.

There are always going to be a ton of things that keep small businesses busy, from finding customers to keeping them happy, but there are higher-level issues that should get their attention, too.

Think about making Equal Pay Day the moment you show your counterparts in larger organizations that small businesses not only care, but are prepared to act — and that their actions can go a long way towards making a tangible difference for women across Canada.