Former PepsiCo Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi, one of the most influential women business leaders in the world, has asked companies to address gender pay gaps in stronger ways.
In an article in her newsletter “Insight”, Indra Nooyi said she believed paying women less than men was a “burning hole in our collective conscience”.
Nooyi described the consequences of gender pay gap as “persistent and pernicious”. She said the matter affected almost every family.
“They (women) often start with a little less, and they end up with far less because the issue compounds,” Nooyi wrote. “Women are much more likely than men to be poor in old age.”
Nooyi added that for too long, pay gap has been accepted as a fact and there have been endless arguments about its complexity.
"That has allowed the people at the top to hide behind excuses, and to defer to slow-moving diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, or to wait for public reporting or other legislation to play out,” she added.
The 66-year-old executive asked senior business leaders to introspect.
“Ask yourself if you are doing the right thing. If this was your mother, your sister, your daughter, would you treat them this way?” she added.
Nooyi called on companies to “set a bold tone” on the matter of pay gap.
“As we develop new post-pandemic employment routines, big companies should set a bold tone for the whole economy on this issue. It’s about character -- the character of the company, of the CEO, of the human resources team and the board of directors.”
Nooyi had told Fortune magazine in an interview last year that asking for pay parity is an advice she gives to her own daughters.
The former PepsiCo CEO had drawn flak for saying in 2021 that she had never asked for a pay raise. Many saw it as her implying that even others should not ask for it.
Nooyi later clarified that it was neither a suggestion nor advice for others. She spoke about her and her husband being taught to never ask for anything growing up.
“I wish we were not that way. I wish we had the courage to go ask for. Whatever we had we thought was a lot," she told Fortune.
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