Women are slowly catching up with men in pay—so slowly that at the current rate it will take until 2227 for women to reach pay equity, according to Citi, a multinational financial services firm based in New York City.
Calling that pace unacceptable, Citi on Thursday announced a multimedia campaign, known as ‘The Moment,’ to raise awareness about the pay gap and pledged to do more to close the gap at Citi. In order to close the gap, women will need to attain more high level positions, as well as being paid the same as men for equal work, the company said.
“The issue goes beyond equal pay for equal work and expands to a representation and leadership gap within our organization [at Citi] and beyond,” said Carla Hassan, global chief brand officer at Citi. “We need more women in the top-ranking, highest-paying jobs."
The campaign includes a video of young girls who are daughters of Citi employees being told women make less than men and have fewer opportunities for leadership positions and shows their shocked and annoyed reactions. The content is intended to serve as the spark to ignite a broader conversation about the issue among adults and the next generation, Citi said.
“The gender pay gap isn’t just a women’s issue. The boys and the girls that we interviewed were equally surprised, and their solutions were shockingly simple: Give everyone the same chances. This is a challenge we need to tackle together and this behavior and mindset starts with young boys and girls supporting and championing one another,” Hassan said.
Earlier this year, Citi became the first U.S. company to publish unadjusted pay gap figures for women and U.S. minorities. The analysis measured the difference in median total compensation when adjustments are not made for factors such as job function, level or geography. The analysis revealed that the median pay for women globally is 71% of the median for men, and the median pay for U.S. minorities is 93% of the median for non-minorities. To effectively reduce the difference in this unadjusted pay gap, Citi has announced goals to increase the representation of women and U.S. minorities in senior and higher-paying roles across the firm.
“With this new campaign, we hope to shine a light on the unfiltered reactions of children to this persistent issue and inspire a broader conversation around pay equity and the leadership representation gap,” Hassan added. “‘The Moment’ is intended to fuel the powerful emotions that are needed to spur action among adults as well as showcase how to communicate with and empower future generations.”
Women make up more than half of Citi’s workforce globally, however, only 37% of the firm’s senior-most positions are held by women. Citi has pledged to increase representation at the assistant vice president through managing director levels to at least 40% for women globally and 8% for black employees in the U.S. by 2021.
‘The Moment’ also includes a billboard that will be unveiled Friday to mark the United Nations’ International Day of the Girl in Midtown Manhattan, on Broadway between 45th St. and 46th St., that will run for four weeks. The billboard will show a series of photographs of the girls from the video and direct viewers to the video on the Citi website.
The advertisements will be featured in print in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and Washington Post, while also running digitally on LATimes.com and across Citi’s social media channels using the hashtag #itsabouttime.
“Citi’s willingness to be transparent on the pay equity and representation issue is what holds us accountable for making progress,” said Sara Wechter, head of human resources at Citi. “Citi is committed to ensuring equal pay for equal work for all of our colleagues globally and we are working diligently to close the female and minority representation gaps across our firm.”