The Must-Read Articles for Talent Professionals This Week

“Despite decades of scholarly and regulatory attention,” writes Harvard Business Review, “women are underpaid relative to men in the U.S. and most other countries, by as much as 20% according to some estimates.”

As a result, many U.S. states as well as countries around the world have recently turned to legislation to tackle pay gaps by mandating salary ranges in job descriptions. While such a step can be helpful, HBR notes there may be a bigger issue at hand — namely, that well-meaning advocates for closing the pay gap for women and people from underrepresented groups have been coming at the issue from the wrong angle.

“A common reaction,” writes HBR, “is to focus on those employees who earn far less than their expected pay — to seek justification from supervisors for lower pay rates and to suggest raises when appropriate. While this method may seem intuitive, it does not work. It does not close pay gaps, it does not address the locus (or exact point) of pay inequity in a firm’s salary structure, and it can cause salary compression.”

So what’s the answer? HBR believes it’s something called “structured pay equity analysis” that can help close pay gaps by addressing systemic biases and pinpointing what’s causing pay inequity in a business’ salary structure. To learn more, be sure to check out the top spot in our list below of must-read articles for talent professionals.

And further down our list, you can also find out why some companies are always hiring too many people; why some L&D professionals are sabotaging their own credibility; and what skills will be most in-demand for 2024.

Here are the must-read articles from this week:

1. A Better Way for Companies to Address Pay Gaps (Harvard Business Review)

2. Why Do Companies Hire Too Many People? (Josh Bersin)

3. A Rare Rant: L&D Folks Sabotage Their Own Credibility (Dani Johnson on LinkedIn)

4. A Case for Competitive Retaliation in Recruiting (Dr. John Sullivan on LinkedIn)

5. RTO May Be a ‘Power Grab’ That Doesn’t Improve Performance, Researchers Say (HRDive)

6. Why Companies Often Get Lunar New Year Wrong in the Workplace (BBC)

7. Millennials in the U.S. Are So Done with Hustle Culture (Morning Brew on LinkedIn)

8. The Most In-Demand Skills for 2024 (LinkedIn Talent Blog)

9. Titles Do Matter (Brianna Doe on LinkedIn)

10. AI ‘Work-Free Society’ May Not Be Happier, Says Banerjee of MIT (Nikkei Asia)

Here is the must-listen podcast:

Cultivating Curiosity with James Robilotta (ATD Accidental Trainer)