Starbucks announces 100 per cent pay equity across races and genders

Starbucks announced on 28 March that it has reached 100 per cent pay equity for partners of all genders and races performing similar work across the United States. “Roughly 10 years ago we began serious work to ensure women and men – of all ethnicities and races – are compensated fairly at Starbucks,” said Lucy Helm, chief partner officer at Starbucks, in a statement. “This accomplishment is the result of years of work and commitment.” Helm, who will discuss the announcement on stage at the Starbucks 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Seattle, said the company will now work “with deliberate speed” toward closing the gender pay gap for all partners in company-operated markets worldwide. In the United States, women are paid an average of 80 cents on the dollar compared to men, Starbucks reported in a statement. The gender pay gap is even greater in retail, where women make an average of 70 cents on the dollar compared to men, said Helm. It could take until 2119 for the United States to close the gender pay gap, and even longer worldwide, according to the American Association of University Women. In the hopes of speeding things up, Helm said Starbucks is publicly sharing the principles and tools the company used to reach this goal in the United States in the hope that other employers will join in working toward pay equity.