What is a key step in addressing pay equity?

• A. Gather pay data by job family and analyze gaps.
• B. Raise all salaries equally regardless of role.
• C. Eliminate all bonuses.
• D. Ignore external market data.

Answer: (A)

A data-driven approach to pay equity starts with collecting and examining how compensation varies across roles. Gathering pay data by job family and analyzing gaps lets you compare like-for-like jobs and see where disparities exist for different groups. This step reveals where adjustments are truly needed and helps you target decisions rather than guesswork, promoting fair pay for similar work and alignment with market standards.

Raising all salaries equally regardless of role ignores differences in job scope, responsibilities, and market rates, so it wouldn’t fix inequities and could create new ones. Eliminating bonuses removes a component that might be used to address compensation gaps, but it doesn’t address underlying base-pay disparities. Ignoring external market data lets pay drift away from what other employers offer, undermining both equity and competitiveness.