Closing the pay gap: How to ensure fair compensation policies inside a company : The case of technological companies in Finland

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to assess whether the current remuneration practices of a Finnish technology company ensure fair compensation and investigate whether there were any significant gender-related pay gaps. This work studied the gender pay gap in a medium-sized Finnish company using a case study approach featuring quantitative salary analysis as well as an interview. The researcher has analysed 104 individual salaries spread across four different titles and has interviewed the HR representative of that company. The pay gap analysis revealed the gender pay gap of 2-5%, which is comparable to the 5% unexplained pay gap reported by TEK. The measured result indicates that the company policies have been effective at providing a fair remuneration for their employees irrespective of gender. The calculated unexplained gender pay gap is similar in magnitude to the effect that personal qualifications might have on the individual’s salary. These results must be handled with caution as the percentage of women in this study was 21%, and factors such as education, age and work location might have had an impact on the calculated pay gaps.