UKG Announces Multimillion-Dollar Initiative to Help Close Gender Pay Gap and Promote Pay Equity

UKG , a leading global provider of human capital management (HCM), payroll, and workforce management solutions for all people, announced the UKG Close the Gap Initiative — a multimillion-dollar pay equity initiative to drive awareness and action to resolve pay disparity between men, women, and underrepresented groups that continues to significantly impact today’s workforce.

“UKG has a long history of helping organizations take care of their people and create great workplaces. We believe in equity for all people, including fair, consistent and equitable pay for everyone regardless of gender, race, or background”

“Pay inequity is still a very real and pervasive problem in the U.S. and across the world,” said Brian Reaves, chief belonging, diversity, and equity officer at UKG. “According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, for every dollar a man in the U.S. earned in 2020, a woman made $0.82 — a gap of 18 cents.¹ And that gap widens even further when you look at intersectionality such as Black, transgender, and immigrant women.² As an organization whose purpose is people, we know that an individual’s income impacts every aspect of life, including their health, wellness, family, and future. Through this campaign, we are committing several million dollars towards the work for meaningful and permanent change in the area of pay equity.”

HR Technology News: Upstryve, Formerly ProBility Media, to Create the First NFT Series for the Trades Industry

The UKG Close the Gap Initiative will fund a number of critical programs, nonprofits, awareness building efforts, education, and research in support of pay equity, including:

• Close the Gap Commitment: To help close the wage gap, UKG is contributing $0.18 (the current gender wage gap) for every single employee paid each year via a UKG payroll solution toward the fight for pay equity. UKG payroll solutions are used to pay over 15 million employees per year, meaning UKG will make a $3 million investment in the critical programs and initiatives described below that support the fight for pay equity.
• Philanthropic Support: UKG is announcing partnerships with four nonprofits that are focused on bringing greater access to education, career, opportunity, and pay equality to women, women of color, and other traditionally underrepresented groups: Grantmakers for Girls of Color, LeanIn.org, Reboot Representation, and 9to5. These organizations help women, girls, and people of color, including Black, Latina, and Native American women, as well as those who identify as transgender, gain access to opportunity through education, enter the workforce, grow their careers, and advocate for critical policy changes to create equitable workforces.
• Pay Equity in America Research Study: UKG is sponsoring research by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services on pay equity in America to examine the existing pay gaps between men and women in the workforce, as well as the progress employers are making nationwide to create more equitable conditions among all genders. Results of this study will be released in 2022.
• Educational Resources and Awareness: UKG is partnering with experts to develop educational resources for best practices in HR, compensation planning, recruiting, and hiring that are known to support pay equity and make these resources publicly available for all. In addition, UKG is launching a pay equity awareness campaign that will focus on building awareness of the gender wage gap through broadcast and digital media platforms.
• Close the Gap Pledge: UKG invites all people to join the Close the Gap Pledge to fight inequality in the workplace. Participants will be the first to receive research, educational assets, learning opportunities, and tools to make their workplaces more equitable for all.

HR Technology News: Genesys Raises $580 Million in Funding at $21 Billion Valuation

UKG is also committed to helping thousands of customers around the world understand pay equity within their own organizations through its HCM solutions, which are built to help remove bias, identify potential imbalances at work, and build fairness into hiring practices, employee scheduling, performance management, succession planning, and compensation. UKG’s pay equity analysis can help organizations identify potential areas to further investigate for disparities based on gender, ethnicity, age, and disability status — helping companies determine if they should do more detailed pay equity analysis. Employee survey tools allow organizations to solicit feedback from employees to get a pulse on equity and diversity issues that matter to them, allowing businesses to enact meaningful change.

“UKG has a long history of helping organizations take care of their people and create great workplaces. We believe in equity for all people, including fair, consistent and equitable pay for everyone regardless of gender, race, or background,” said Reaves. “Through the UKG Close the Gap Initiative, we seek to enact change related to pay inequity and encourage others to join the fight for more inclusive, fair, and unbiased workplaces.”

UKG has been recognized for creating a culture of inclusivity and support of women in the workplace worldwide, most recently achieving a ranking of #16 on Fortune’s Best Workplaces for Women list³,  being named again to India’s Best Workplaces for Women list, and being named a 2021 AnitaB.org Top Companies for Women Technologists Leader.

HR Technology News: Skillsoft Partners With Udemy Business to Empower Technical Skills and Competency Mastery