Equality and inclusion are becoming increasingly important topics, both in the workplace and our everyday lives. While there is a lot to be said about opportunity and diversity, it’s evident that fair and equitable access to financial services and employment is essential to closing the wealth gaps and, in turn, bringing everyone up.
Unfortunately, it’s much easier said than done. We have to, as a community, change our attitudes and financial infrastructure to accommodate a more flexible and inclusive approach. There are two core factors and strategies that employers, employees and everyone in society can look to implement on a daily basis (among many others); let’s take a look.
Addressing gender differences and pay outcomes
The gender pay difference is a reality, although the drivers of that outcome are debatable. What isn’t, however, is addressing the issue. We can all make a difference to a problem that continues to be a significant issue for women, particularly those of minority races. While female participation in the workplace has risen dramatically, there are also some pervasive ideologies that ‘female work,’ such as nursing or teaching, may not be as valuable as other male-dominated careers. Furthermore, hiring discrimination is likely still an unfortunate factor in many instances.
In terms of addressing the issue, there are many things companies can act upon. Paid parental leave for all parents (all genders) would help create a culture where all employees are equally responsible for childcare or have the opportunity to be. Flexibility in the workplace to help those with children succeed, such as enabling time to do the school pickup and dropoff, would also make a difference. Of course, removing bias from job descriptions, requirements and opportunities are a given.
Minimising generational wealth gaps
There are perhaps two blatantly obvious wealth gaps we can observe (or at least perceive to be confirmed) in Australia – the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation that capitalised on surging property values and disadvantaged immigrants or indigenous Australians.
Approximately 30% of Millennials own a property, compared to 68% of Baby Boomers. 90% of Millennials are concerned about affording one, while only 64% of Baby Boomers are. The main driver for this is the inability to save the necessary deposit. With an increasing cost of living and pressures on everyday affordability, breaking out of the rent cycle is hard for many. It is also sobering for us to consider that the median weekly income for Indigenous Australians is just $623, compared to $935 for non-Indigenous Australians.
Both of these factors are not easily solved, although we can all choose to provide structured opportunities for both younger Australians and disadvantaged minorities. New fintech innovations, such as Paytime’s Earned Wage Access (EWA), can help many of these employees break the paycheck to paycheck cycle.
EWA allows employees to access their already-earned pay at any point in the pay cycle without having to wait until their next paycheck hits their account. When an unexpected bill or expense arrives, employees can alternatively access part of their earned wages in real time to cover any cash shortfall instead of turning to a short term loan or credit card to cover it. Coupled with this, Paytime’s solution provided access to mental health resources; financial tools and saving plans, to help people into a position Financial Wellbeing and hence less stress.
If you want to empower your employees financially, providing them with an opportunity to better themselves and their financial health, contact Paytime today, it costs ZERO for a company to implement; takes up minimal time for HR; and does not change the way payroll is run, whatsoever.
