Celebrating International Women’s Day

Becoming EQUAL-SALARY certified

In October 2018, PwC Switzerland obtained the “EQUAL-SALARY certified” label after an external audit of equal pay between men and women. This demonstrates that the firm pays women and men equally for work of the same value.

Andreas Staubli said: "I am proud that we have achieved the official certification of equal compensation between women and men by the Equal-Salary Foundation which is valid until September 2021. Only if all of us tackle the topic of equal pay we can realise real change. Therefore PwC supports other companies to strive for an independent certification of equal pay offering our services."

Helping female talent progress and reach their full potential

In 2018, PwC UK conducted a review to identify Career Enhancing Roles (CERs); roles that provide senior managers and directors with the profile and experience they need to progress. It also carried out a review of the gender profile of the current incumbents and compared them to who was in the talent pipeline for progression to director and partner. This highlighted individuals in the pipeline who were not working in these roles but who would benefit enormously from the experience. As a result of this review, the firm was able to take timely action to ensure these individuals remained on the pipeline for progression.

In addition to this regular monitoring, the resourcing teams have quarterly fair work allocation reports that show by grade the gender distribution on the firm's priority versus non priority accounts and the top revenue generating accounts. They are able to use these in discussions with engagement leaders to review the resourcing profile and take action to address where there is an imbalance.

Career sponsorship is also vital for the progression of high potential female talent, and here the firm is taking action too.

Sarah Churchman, PwC UK Diversity and Inclusion Leader, says: “We have invested by providing each high potential female director with a progression coach. This is a senior leader in their business who provides structured support and guidance and who gives them access to their networks to enable their progression. This is someone who is able to intervene if the individual is not getting access to the opportunities they need to fulfil their potential.”

Introducing family friendly benefits for its people

In 2018, PwC US introduced a return-to-work benefit for employees who become new parents, in addition to its existing paid leave programmes. This allows new parents to work 60% of their schedule at 100% pay for up to four weeks, giving them time to adapt gradually back to the flow of work.

HR Drive recognised it as the Benefits Program of the Year and said: “The later months of 2018 saw the unveiling of similar formal policies at other organizations, and PwC may have set a new standard for family and caregiver support.”