Do Some Companies Pay Men More Salary Than Women For Same Position?

By Florence Mukunya,
Gender equality at the workplace  is something women have been fighting for in ages and will probably continue doing so for a longer time to come.

Recently a female colleague told me she can never apply for a job in a certain company because rumour has it that the employer tends to pay women a lower salary than men for the same job position.

In this time and era I would not expect such a thing to happen, earlier in the days women were assumed not to be good at some jobs but these days women have become diverse and they have proven that they can do what a man can do better.

So is it true that men are paid more than they women counter parts for the same job position?

Shocked as I was, I sort a casual interview with several people on the matter.

Mike Muna* who happens to work with one the leading banks in Kenya thought that it was the most unbelievable thing that a person in the this century would say, “It seems farfetched. I have never heard of such scenarios. Internationally yes, but here in Kenya, I doubt it,” he shakes his head at the thought of it.

“Such things used to happen in the olden days. Nowadays salaries are done according to job groups and if you fall under a certain category, I don’t really see why you would get paid less if you are a woman or more if you are a man,” says Mr Muna

On the other hand, Festus Odhiambo feels that saying women are paid less than men is just an excuse that people come up with. He adds that, “But then again there are employers who still live in the stone age I would not be shocked if they paid their female employees lesser than their male counterparts.” He however adds that such cases are rare.

Mary Musao* an accountant with an events company located at the heart of Nairobi confesses that her sister who works as a Marketing Supervisor and the only female in the sales department has been complaining for ages and is on the verge of because she is paid less than all her male co-workers.

“There is a 50K difference between her salary and those of other managers. Surprisingly, this is not because of her experience or academic background. In fact, her academic papers are impressive than those of her colleagues,” confesses Ms Musao

True, working experience and skills comes hand in hand with the type of salary one gets.

For Ruth Kanyi who works as a receptionist in an Eastlands based Insurance firm she says, “I don’t expect someone who has 5 years experience and who has been amassing her skills over the years to get paid less than a person who just entered in the job market. My bottom line is that your skills should be the determinant of how much you should earn and not because one happens to be female and the other one happens to be male.”

She is also of the opinion that salaries should be set according to the duties and responsibilities of the particular position.

“During shortlisting, some companies do not have a particular gender in mind, does that mean they change the salary once the candidate is hired?” queries Ms Kanyi

The issues expressed by these people on what determines how much one should seem to revolve around skills, experience and potential.

What’s your take….Do you think men get a higher salary than women for the same position?

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