The findings come as the World Economic Forum warns that that the economic gender pay gap will take another 268 years to close, while achieving global gender parity will take nearly 136 years, an increase from its previous estimate of almost 100 years.

XpertHR and Executive Networks surveyed 1,000 HR leaders, business leaders, and employees across the US and UK and the different results between genders shows how gender biases are impacting transparency conversations. For organisations to make progress on advancing pay equity, effectively communicating how pay is determined and advertising reasonable pay ranges to all employees is critical for organisations who seek to close today’s widening pay equity gaps.

More than three-quarters (76%) of male employees agree that they have a good understanding of how pay is determined at their organisations, but a lower proportion of female employees (61%) said the same. This disparity leaves organisations open to inequal pay practices, posing attraction and retention issues as employees seek organisations that are moving towards a fairer future of pay.

Half (50%) of managers believe communicating the factors that impact pay to employees is their biggest challenge in addressing pay transparency. However, two-thirds (63%) of senior leaders surveyed said that their organisation already trains managers on how to conduct pay transparency conversations. This suggests current training practices are likely ineffective. Concerningly, the remaining third (33%) said no manager training is offered – a clear indicator that pay transparency and open, honest salary conversations are likely not priorities at these organisations.

Zara Nanu, CEO of Gapsquare, part of XpertHR, commented: “When organisations look inwards, empowering managers with the right data insights enables them to host pay discussions with confidence. The right data insights also enable organisations to create a culture that moves pay discussions away from a solely HR issue into one that engages the entire workforce in a comfortable and open discussion.”

Jeanne Meister, EVP, Executive Networks and author, added: “There is no doubt that pay transparency is a top priority for top-performing organisations. Ensuring your organisation has the necessary understanding of how to tackle fair pay practices is not a competitive action – it is a business imperative.

“Without effectively and transparently communicating pay determinants and salary ranges, employees are left in the dark on pay structures, compounding the gender pay gap further. Looking ahead, leaders must narrow the divide between how transparency measures are perceived amongst employees and managers and create a framework that aligns the entire workforce.”