Eliminating the Gender Pay Gap

This exercise is available to Assessor subscribers only.

Now it's your turn to solve a real-life problem!

Problem Statement:

Molly DeLong has been feeling pretty good about her job. She is a "Chemist Analytical" for an Oil and Gas Exploration company (eSIC 1300) in their Boston, Massachusetts laboratory. The company has $3,000,000,000 in revenue. She has been on the job for 3 years now and has received high praise, not only from her boss but top management as well.

In fact, the other company lab, located in Burlington, Vermont may be one reason management likes her so well. The chemist there, Robert Christiansen, seems not to have his act together. She has been asked to re-do some of his analyses in the past year. She is not sure if he is just sloppy in his work or doesn't have the proper training. She does know that the job at that lab is called "Chemist," so it may not compare directly to hers, but she figures he should know how to do things properly by now since he has 8 years experience.

Paychecks

Recently, when she went to Burlington on a project and was talking with Robert, he left his desk to check something. While waiting, she happened to notice that he had left his paycheck lying on the desk.

The amount for the month was $9,500. Her monthly salary is $9,800. At first, this made her feel pretty good, but on second thought she is not sure. Given the obvious differences in their performance and the cost of living in the two cities, she is wondering if she is a victim of discrimination. However, she is not sure any analysis would be useful since they have different job titles and years of experience.

Data Analysis

She decides to ask you, the Human Resources Manager at her lab. Using a salary planning date of January 1, 2027, you run an analysis using ERI’s Salary Assessor. You assess that Molly has a performance rating at the 70th percentile, and Robert has a performance rating at the 45th percentile.