Why we need to talk about the gender pay gap

In recent years, the gap between women's and men's average pay – always skewed in favour of the latter – has been subject to closer study. Researchers have been asking not only why the problem exists and what influences it, but also how it can be corrected. The gender wage difference issue is culturally deeply-rooted, being largely the result of centuries of more or less explicit discrimination against women. Until a few decades ago, women's access to higher-paying and responsible occupations was in fact practically zero. And in most Western families, women carried – and still carry, though perhaps to a lesser extent – the burden of responsibility for home and child care. This fact alone would have had major repercussions on their careers, and thus on their access to higher salaries.

The term “gender pay gap” is used to refer both to male and female wage differences and the salary disparity between men and women in the same roles. According to Eurostat data, in European companies with more than 10 employees, women earn on average 12.7% less than men. In Italy, INPS data on private sector employees (not including agriculture) shows that women’s average gross annual income is just over 18,000 euros, while for men it is over 26,000, making a roughly 30% difference. It is also worth noting that out of 17 million private sector workers, 9.7 are men and 7.3 women. Similar trends occur also the public sector.

The reasons for this gap are diverse and interrelated, but in statistical terms they can be very broadly divided into four categories. The first involves “horizontal segregation”, whereby women are found working mainly in sectors with lower wages, regardless of gender. The fact that women do these jobs depends not only on individual preferences, but also because they are more likely to choose them on grounds of cultural and social factors. These are the same variables that influence choices of study paths, for example, and contribute to keeping women away from the largely science-biased STEM degrees. Some research has shown that gender stereotypes not only cause more men to choose maths or engineering-related university courses, but also deflect women away from these disciplines, because women tend to internalise that they will never be as successful as men.

The second category is "vertical segregation", which refers to the actual reduced career opportunities for women compared to men, and their difficulty in obtaining promotions or higher positions. The third grouping considers that factors such as parental leave, maternity leave, expectations, part-time and fixed-term contracts mean that women end up working fewer hours than their male colleagues each year and therefore earn less. The last category concerns the remaining percentage that researchers are unable to account for. This section probably also includes employers’ arbitrary choices to pay women less than men.

But the point is not so much to highlight the existence of gender pay differences, but to ask why they exist, and how they affect the labour market in terms of inclusiveness. Italian electricity transmission grid operator Terna has long been committed to maintaining an inclusive work environment that values the uniqueness of each person, in line also with the key principle of Respect, which is central to the company's leadership model.

For this reason, Terna has this year sought and obtained special certification from the IMQ - Istituto italiano Marchio di Qualità (Italian Quality Mark Institute) Certification Body. The qualification confirms the compliance of its Gender Equality Management System with the UNI/PdR 125:2022 standard, a yardstick that highlights the Group's commitment to fairness and equal opportunities in selection, growth, development and remuneration. Following a meeting entitled “The culture of respect. Beyond Inclusion”, organised by the national electricity transmission system operator as part of its Academy. we talked about these issues with Maria Cristina Bombelli. She is the founder of Wise Growth, a human sustainability-focused consulting company, and has been researching inclusion (especially in the workplace) since the 1980s.

Dr. Bombelli, what do we mean by inclusiveness in the corporate context?

«Understanding inclusiveness means being aware of the situations in which a person feels excluded, be it in companies or elsewhere. When an individual is marginalised in some way, both socially and in the work environment, they tend to develop feelings of anger and resentment, which in turn negatively affects the culture of the organisation. Basically, exclusion deprives corporate life of oxygen. But on the other hand, feelings of belonging foster a healthy and dynamic working environment. Especially when there is a declaration of intent, it is important for people to explain to the company why they do not feel included, so that these mechanisms can be corrected».

How do you start fostering inclusiveness in a company?

«Inclusivity is first and foremost a choice on how you want to manage people within your company. This is of course a managerial choice, but also an ethical one. An organisation must be able to commit to spreading a culture of respect, embracing two key concepts: “continuity” and “depth”. The first relates to the notion that a company must be aware that a culture of respect is not built overnight, but is a long, complex process. The second alludes to the need to understand, even in an abstract way, that we all tend to prefer individuals who are similar, and that promoting diversity requires effort at organisational and individual level».

What are the risks for a company in perpetuating prejudices and stereotypes, even unconsciously?

«The biggest risk is bad management of staff. When we talk about plurality and inclusion in a company, the idea is to set in motion a cultural change that reaches every aspect of the organisation. We do this by explaining the traps people fall into when they don’t consider – or when they undervalue – the importance of inclusivity. We also focus on the language and behaviour that encourages it. That way we seek to achieve change over time».

Terna's commitment to the inclusion of people with disabilities. Promote equality and respect for equal opportunities; ensure that all employees and associates behave respectfully and uphold inclusion, the Code of Ethics and the Company's values; promote gender balance and support gender equality; implement dedicated programmes and initiatives to ensure work-life balance. These are just some of the main activities and initiatives that Terna has launched in recent years to highlight the uniqueness of people and boost the value of diversity.

For the International Day of People with Disabilities, on 3 December, Terna presented a new vertical project to support the inclusion of people with disabilities, aimed at creating value for the company and the country. The programme, called Terna Ability, comprises numerous initiatives and four distinct strands of action designed to initiate a cultural change for raising awareness, breaking down stereotypes and offering new perspectives on disability and its valuation: “Culture and awareness”, “Recruiting & employee journey”, “Network and alliances” and “Internal and external communication”.

Terna Ability is linked to the goals of the Group’s ESG Plan, with which the company undertook to create a listening hub, promote inclusive language, raise awareness about disabilities and strengthen the training of its personnel recruiters, in order to guarantee equal access opportunities.