Micron's VP DE&I: Pay Equity Conversations
Micron Technology’s Sharawn Connors, VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion shared insights about implementing DE&I strategies in the tech industry. Micron is a world leader in innovative memory solutions that transform how the world uses information. They have approximately 40,000 team members in 17 countries who work with the world’s most trusted brands, delivering memory and storage systems for a broad range of applications and sparking countless possibilities in technology.
As Connors' path into DE&I followed a stint in executive compensation, the first half of the call delved deeply into issues of pay equity and factors that contribute to equitable compensation policies and governance. Connors shared that she was inspired to go into DE&I after noticing that there were not many people that looked like her in the rewards field, a factor that significantly reinforced the systemic biases at play in total rewards determinations. In the second half of the meeting, Connors discussed how Micron sets, incentivizes, and communicates representation goals globally.
Call highlights and discussion included:
- Transparency in pay practices was the main topic. Where are the compensation gaps and how are they best addressed? Connors recommends looking beyond just gender inequality and base pay. Micron audits total rewards equity for gender, people of color, veterans, and employees with disabilities. (Equal Pay Day is March 24th, 2021).
- Are managers prepared for pay equity conversations? Connors cautioned call participants to understand the nuances of compensation discussions and to make sure managers were trained to not only address existing inequities, but to also avoid future issues that stem from the same systemic biases.
- How do you close gender pay gaps and break glass ceilings that limit career and compensation growth? Connors reiterated that when analyzing pay it’s important to factor in equity, perks, and bonuses (and spot bonuses) that comprise overall executive compensation.
- Does your organization audit and monitor pay equity? Our in-call poll revieled that while many attendee’s organizations did, the scope was generally limited to base pay for certain groups.
- What tools are available to help with analyzing pay equity? Connors recommended using a third party to help with compensation analysis and to help with bias auditing the compensation function.
- With a more inclusive culture as a goal, how do you measure inclusion? Connors shared that Micron uses an inclusion index in their annual employee survey, which is then looked at by demographic groups to see where experiences may differ.
How does Micron set representation goals? Connors says that she communicates them as goals, not quotas. She prefers to not set headcount numbers, but to instead look at percentage increases year-over-year that are tied to short-term incentives.