Dive Brief:

• Women’s college basketball coaches get paid less than their counterparts in men’s programs. However, when pay as a percentage of revenue is calculated, coaches of women’s teams are paid comparatively or more than coaches of men’s teams, an analysis released March 30 by WTW, an insurance broker and advisory firm, found. The maximum fixed compensation, which combines base salary and annual guaranteed pay, of coaches of women’s programs was a median of 29% of program revenue, while coaches of men’s programs had a median of 24%. But, analysts note, that’s an “imperfect” measure of pay equity because men’s programs generally make about $5 million more in revenue annually. 
• Analysts were unable to compare gender pay equity in women’s and men’s programs because of the lack of women coaches in men’s programs. But, on women’s teams, women coaches are paid more than men in every pay category, including as a percentage of revenue, the analysis found. Women earned a median maximum total compensation of $817,500, while men made a median $485,154. 
• “We cannot say that there is necessarily equity in coaches’ pay, as the clear disparity in revenue of men’s versus women’s basketball is difficult to reconcile; however, we are encouraged that while absolute dollar-for-dollar pay still has room for improvement, universities and the NCAA appear to continue their investment in infrastructure, including increasing exposure for women’s basketball and corporations engaging in more sponsorship deals with women’s basketball programs,” the analysts said. 

Dive Insight:

The push for more salary transparency, both by legislators and workers, is putting pressure on employers to improve pay equity. But that takes a dedicated effort by an organization to establish policies that demonstrate how raises are earned, set salary ranges and have a system for checks and balances, a pay equity lawyer told HR Dive. 

Sixty-three percent of organizations say pay equity initiatives are already underway or planned, according to a February report by compensation data, software and services firm Payscale. Those companies are performing pay equity audits on gender, race, ethnicity or national origin and age.

Organizations say they’re making progress on pay equity because “it’s the right thing to do,” a survey by WorldatWork and Fidelity Investments, released Jan. 17, found. But they also say they’re concerned about legal risks associated with pay inequity.