Shortened workweek could help close gender pay gap: expert

'Yes, many organizations are offering flexibility. And, who's putting their hand up for this? Women, more so than men'

Shortened workweek could help close gender pay gap: expert

The structured implementation of a shortened workweek could play a key role in closing the gender pay gap by levelling the playing field, according to one expert.

“At the moment, the majority of part-time roles are made up by women. Women are forced to take part-time roles because they have caring duties” and many women are already working a reduced workweek, says Grace Tallon, COO of Work Time Reduction, in talking with Canadian HR Reporter.

On top of that, women are “not getting compensated the same way as their male counterparts,” she says.

Compared with the annual mean earnings of white Canadian-born men, white women earned an average of $0.71 for every $1.00 earned by white men in 2016, according to a previous report from Statistics Canada.

It will take nearly 100 years to close the gender pay gap, according to a previous report from the World Economic Forum.

Also, women are less likely to put themselves forward for leadership roles due to existing workplace structures, Tallon says.

"They’re reluctant to put their hand up and say, ‘Yes, I'm going to take that managerial role,’ which is, of course, going to increase their pay," she explains. "Furthermore, employers are less likely to be asking them to put themselves forward because they're already working those reduced hours."

Employers are also less likely to promote younger women to higher designations because they believe these workers may start their own family soon and they may not be “necessarily be suitable for senior manager roles”.

Despite a significant jump from just 11 per cent in 2015, women now hold just 29 per cent of board seats in businesses, according to a previous report from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).

Shortened weeks match business needs

Interest in shortened workweeks is rising in Canada, with a 34 per cent increase in employees working four-day schedules, says Tallon, citing data from BrightHR.

Companies taking this approach are structuring it in various ways. Some designate a common day off for all employees – typically a Friday – while others stagger days off or shorten daily hours.

“It depends on what the business needs are,” she says. “So different departments could have different requirements.”

Tallon also clarifies that a compressed workweek does not always mean a 4-day work schedule throughout a week.

“When executives balk at the idea of a shortened working week, it's often because they just think, ‘Oh, there's just simply no way we could shut our doors on a Friday’. But that is not always what it looks like, and, more often than not, you see different schedules across different industries.”

What is the impact of shortened workweek?

Tallon points to overwhelming employee support for the reduced workweek, citing improvements in well-being, work-life balance, and even personal health.

"I spoke to a man who was so busy that he wasn't going to the doctor, that he was just putting off appointments for a very, very long time, and when they started a reduced workweek, he prioritised his health, and he went to the doctor. He was extremely ill, and he's much better now," she said.

For younger workers, the additional time allows for personal growth.

"I talked to some young people… and I asked them, ‘What are your hobbies? What are you going to do with your time?’ And like, amazingly, some young people will say, ‘Well, you know, I left college and I just started working, and I haven't had time. I don't even know what my hobbies are,’" she said.

However, for shortened weeks to have a direct impact on closing the gender pay gap, there has to be uniformity among workers, she says.

“Many organizations are offering flexibility, but it's unstructured flexibility. It's fantastic that organizations are offering that flexibility, but it isn't really fair if it's always going to be women who are who are taking that on. 

“So by having structured flexibility, it means that you're evening the playing field, and then everybody across the organization is buying into it. And that's where we're going to see that big change.

Tallon notes that the change is “starting already”. However, “it will take a number of years before we really see it impacting the gender pay gap the way we believe that it will.”

The use of artificial intelligence could make working a shortened workweek a possibility for most Canadians, according to a previous report. Previously, Canadian HR Reporter also wrote about whether the 4-day workweek is applicable beyond the office.

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