Gender Pay Gap & Job Satisfaction

The relative disparity in the salary structure of people belonging to different genders is called the gender pay gap. Due to the gap in wages, women are paid lesser salaries than their male counterparts, although they are expected to work equal hours. In a global study conducted by the UN, it has been noted that for every dollar a man earns, women only earn 77 cents (UN, 2022). Furthermore, the concept of inequality in wages persist across all sectors and in all countries and consequently, it can be said that the work contributions of women are still undervalued.

It can thus be stated that the problem of gender play is still a global one and steps has to be taken to overcome this inequality and disparity on the basis of gender. On a global average, women are paid 23% less than their male counterparts even for the same work profile and sometimes are concentrated for performing job roles that are distinguishably different from that of males. However, irrespective of the skill or effort that is required for performing such work, women tend to receive lesser payment than men. The situation is worse for immigrants, mothers and women of colour (UN, 2022). This can be directly correlated with the concept of discrimination against women and thereby is an offence that should be avoided at all costs. Furthermore, in some cases, women in developing countries are accountable for work as well as looking after their families and consequently are considered as a part of the informal economy since they tend to work part- jobs (UN, 2022).

Organisational Background

Founded in 1865 and headquartered in London, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Limited is a world-renowned financial service provider. HSBC has a history of offering its services to customers for over 150 years and to date, the company has served over 40 million customers across 64 countries and territories (HSBC, 2022). The organisational purpose of HSBC is to help in creating new kinds of opportunities for its customers by bringing ideas, people and capital together for nurturing growth and progress. In terms of organisational values, the company comments to hold itself accountable for sustainable growth and collaborating across boundaries for improving operations. Furthermore, HSBC also values differences and seeks out different perspectives by promoting diversity and inclusion (HSBC, 2022). In the financial year 2021, the net profits amounted to $ 14,693 million, while that in 2020 was $ 6,099 million and consequently, it can be assessed that the company has performed exponentially well in this year (HSBC, 2022).

Significance of the Problem

Despite the fact that the gender pay gap in the UK has been declining for the past decades, it needs to be highlighted that the rate of progress has gradually come down. As commented by Miller and Vagins (2018), the rate of gender pay gap decline has reduced since 2017; as a result of which the estimated time of reaching pay equity has increased from 2059 to 2106. It has also been noted that the government has shown high interest in promoting gender equality in the workplace, although not much progress has been visible in this regard.

In the case of HSBC, the company has reported that its gender pay gap has declined from 51.1% in 2019 to 48.3% in 2020 (HSBC, 2022). Compared with that of the average in the banking sector, it can be assessed that the progress shown by HSBC is significantly slow. According to Boll et al. (2016), the existence of a gender pay gap is bad for the economic growth of the country. Understandingly, it is essential for the company to improve its performance in reducing the existing gender gap within the workforce at the earliest. Consequently, the problem that the researchers have identified and aim to solve is significant at a national level.

Statement of Purpose

HSBC has shown slow progress in addressing the problem of overcoming its gender gap in terms of pay and bonus structures between its male and female problems. As compared to the banking sector average of 23.1 %, the company is significantly falling behind (Petter, 2020). In the case of HSBC, the company reported a gender pay gap of 48.3% in 2020 (HSBC, 2022). Consequently, understanding the impacts of the existing gender pay gap on the motivation and productivity levels of HSBC employees is important and this would be the purpose of this dissertation.

1.5 Statement of Problem

The problem of the Gender pay gap is common in most organisations of the UK such as J. P. Morgan, Marks & Spencer and HSBC Group. In the year 2017/18, 77% of companies operating in the UK have reported to the government a gender pay gap favouring men (GOV, 2022). It can be assessed that the recent intervention by the UK government urged organisations to report their gender pay gap (GPG) information to the public. Furthermore, it can be assessed that this has led organisations to target their resources for improving GPG and creating an equal workplace for employees of all gender. The government h However, the problem, is particularly persistent and aggravated in the case of HSBC as the company has the highest gender pay gap among the banking sector. As of 2020-21, the HSBC UK had around 2,000 employees in the country who reported a gender gap worth 54%, which amounts to women receiving just 46 cents as compared to a dollar for men (Werber, 2021). This can be seen as a major problem within the organisation as the national average in terms of the report from other organisations as stated in Office from National Statistics across all sectors is 17.3% (Petter, 2020).

The gender pay gap at Lloyds Banking group is 33.5% and that across the banking sector of the UK is 23.1 % (Petter, 2020). It can thus be stated that even in comparison with the competitors of HSBC PLC, the company is falling behind in ensuring fair pay to its women employees. This can be seen as a major threat to the sustainable growth of HSBC PLC as GPG is seen as a form of discrimination in the workplace. The occurrence of such instances is detrimental to the brand image and power of organisations. A negative brand image has an impact on customer satisfaction as well as that of stakeholders. Employees within an organisation feel demotivated in the presence of discriminatory work culture and this leads to an uprise in problems such as lower employee productivity, increased absenteeism and increased employee turnover rate. These instances can lower organisational human resources, as a result of which the ability of HSBC to maintain a highly productive and loyal workforce is hampered. Consequently, the problem statement of this research has been set to understand the factors contributing to the Gender pay gap and identify ways of overcoming them for increasing company sustainability.

1.6 Aim and Objectives

The main aim of the research project is to study the impact of the gender pay gap on employee job satisfaction in the case of HSBC bank.

To explore the concept of the gender pay gap in the UK
To identify and analyse the impact of the gender pay gap in employees of HSBC
To identify strategies for overcoming the gender pay gap in HSBC

1.7 Research Questions

What is the concept of the gender pay gap?
What are the impacts of the gender pay gap on the workforce of HSBC bank?
What are the strategies that can be used for overcoming the gender pay gap within the HSBC bank?

1.8 Dissertation Structure

A dissertation is defined as a long piece of academic writing that is based on original research work and are considered a significant part of graduation and post-graduation study (Scribbr, 2022). Although the dissertation structure differs on the basis of the field regarding which it is being conducted, it is commonly divided into five chapters, namely, introduction, literature review, research methodology, data analysis and findings, and conclusion and recommendations. In the first chapter called “Introduction”, this research would be presenting the background of the topic and the organisation selected for this dissertation. The chapter would also discuss the significance of the problem and present the problem statement.

On the basis of those, the research aim and objectives, and research questions would be constructed. The next chapter is “Literature Review” which would discuss the secondary data that has been collected for preparing the researchers to conduct the research work. In the third chapter termed “Research Methodology”, different research approaches, methods and tools is discussed for evaluating their application in the current dissertation. On the basis of the performed assessment, the most appropriate research methodology is selected. The next chapter is “Data Analysis and Findings”, in which the primary data is collected and analysed for answering the research questions. In the final chapter called “Conclusions and Recommendations”, the researchers conclude the research work by answering the research questions and then provide recommendations to address the discussed problem.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

Literature Review is the process of conducting a secondary study on relevant books, journals, newspaper articles and other formats of literature for gaining relevant information regarding the different topics of the research. According to (Snyder, 2019), consideration of existing and relevant literature is instrumental for all research projects and research disciplines. Consequently, researchers begin their project by describing prior research for mapping and assessing the research areas for justifying the proposed research aim and objectives. This chapter would be shedding light upon the concept of gender discrimination and in particular, the gender pay gap is a global and then in a national scenario. The steps taken by the government to overcome this problem would also be discussed. Furthermore, the impact of the gender pay gap and the benefits of overcoming it would also be reviewed. Relevant frameworks and theories that would help in understanding the employees would also be discussed in this chapter.

2.2 Gender Discrimination

Discrimination on the basis of gender is a violation of civil rights and it occurs in different forms such as pregnancy discrimination, unequal pay for women for performing the same job as me and sexual harassment. Gender discrimination occurs when an individual or a class of individuals are treated unequally due to their biological factor of being male or female. Sexual orientation discrimination is also included in the concept of gender discrimination by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to Coffman et al. (2021), gender discrimination against women representatives has been found in an academic context, employment, hiring and referral contexts and bargaining contexts. Such social stigmas and social evils exist in the field of Education as well and sexual harassment is the most rampant problem in this scenario. In addition to it, the creation of a hostile environment for students that leads to interference with the opportunity of the learners to learn and grow emotionally and physically is also recognised as a form of gender discrimination (Find Law, 2022). It is the responsibility of the management of education institutions to prevent the occurrence of all forms of discrimination on campus as well as off-campus when the offender is associated with the institution (Find Law, 2022).

Gender discrimination is a global problem that persists in almost all parts of the world due to existing social behaviours such as the non-conformance of gender roles. Coffman et al. (2021) commented that gender discrimination is largely influenced by the preconceived notions of the recruiters and managers in times of recruitment and referral contexts. Irrespective of the individual productivity levels, it has been noted that managers act on the belief that an average performance gap exists between males and females and this can be seen as a key contributor to the gender pay gap. Hosang and Bhui (2018) noted that gender discrimination is a major factor that leads to a negative impact on women's mental health due to the development of psychosocial stressors. As such stressors are preventable by ensuring equal rights and treatment of women in different scenarios, stakeholders should focus on overcoming this problem.

2.3 Gender Discrimination in the UK

According to Hosang and Bhui (2018), the cases of gender discrimination in the UK is overwhelmingly serious as a survey revealed that 50% of women has experienced different forms of harassment in the workforce such as unwanted sexual approaches, gender pay gap and gender-biased hiring. Furthermore, it has also been discussed that although the instances of such occurring are common in the UK, the culture has been structured and designed in such a way that gender discrimination goes unprevented or noticed. Women in the UK are also underrepresented in the academic and clinical community as only 20% of clinical professors in the country are women (Hosang and Bhui, 2018). According to de Costa et al. (2018), as per the reports from the Royal College of Surgeons in 2016, only 11.1% of all surgeons in the country are female. It can thus be assessed that gender discrimination in the UK exists across most sectors in the country in higher strata of the sectors and this implies that women are not provided with equal scopes of advancements or professional growth due to rampant discrimination.

According to Goyal et al. (2021), gender diversity is poor in the leadership roles of most organisations. Despite being governed by two women prime ministers, the UK has a history of treating women unequally in society and in business. The representation of women in FTSE 150 organisations in director roles amounts to only 30.5% and that of female executive directors is a mere 8.3% (Goyal et al., 2021). This statistically proves the acute underrepresentation of women in the corporate world. However, it needs to be noted that gender discrimination against men has also been seen in the UK which can be correlated with stereotypical perception of society. Birkelund et al. (2021), noted that male applicants are less likely to receive callbacks from recruiters when applying for the job of store assistants, receptionists. It has been noted that stereotypes such as caregiving jobs are most suitable for women and not for men are some of the causes why gender discrimination persists in the labour market of the UK.

2.4 Gender Discrimination in context of the workplace: Gender Pay Gap

According to White (2021), the gender pay gap in the UK has been steadily declining as the GPG among full-time workers in the country has declined from 9% in April 2019 to 7.9% in April 2020. However, the rate of decline of this aspect has declined as well. According to Miller and Vagins (2018), the rate of overcoming the gender gap since 2017 has slowed down as a result of which, the pay equity that was expected to be met by 2059 has been postponed to 2106. It has been noted that the gender gap in one organisation has a compounding effect on the next job as a result of which the income from social security and pensions are also negatively affected due to the gender gap. Furthermore, it has also been noted that the gender pay gap tends to be increasing among higher earners as compared with lower-paid employees (White, 2021).

Shape1

Figure 1: Gender-Pay Gap Equity Expectation

(Source: Miller and Vagins, 2018).

The social uprising of women for equal treatment in workplaces have led to several movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUP which has helped in drawing attention to the occurrence of gender discrimination in workplaces (Hosang and Bhui, 2018). It can thus be assessed that the problem of gender discrimination in the work environment is underrepresented in most cases and thereby the problem runs deep. According to Birkelund et al. (2021), gender discrimination has led to a competitive disadvantage for women in the labour market in times of hiring and recruitment. It has been noted that in men-dominated occupations, women face discrimination and the reverse is also true in times of hiring men in women-dominated occupations. According to Goyal et al. (2021), women members of the board members face the problem of discriminatory remuneration as compared to their male counterparts irrespective of their professional or educational qualifications. In case of such instances, the women employees feel demotivated as their work is not as appreciated by the organisations as compared to their male counterparts. It can thus be assessed that unfair treatment of women in terms of salary package and employee benefits act as psychological barriers to the professional success of women.

2.5 Government interventions against Gender Discrimination

According to Liu et al. (2022), the UK policies have amened the rule of male succession to absolute primogeniture in 2013, as per which eldest child irrespective of gender has the right to inheritance. This can be seen as a positive step in ensuring gender equality in all contexts for overcoming gender inequality and discrimination. As commented by Fernandez-Reino (2021), government intervention in the form of The Equality Act 2021 has made it illegal for all to discriminate against others on the basis of being pregnant or on maternity leave, age. Gender, marital status, disability or race. The above-mentioned attributes help in safeguarding people from forms of discrimination on the basis of nationality, gender, national origin or culture. This can be seen as an effective government intervention against gender discrimination in workplace culture as women now have equal rights to ask for equal pay for equal work.

The Gender Pay Gap Regulations of the UK that came into force in April 2017 has made it essential for all large organisations with over 250 employees to publish official reports regarding the gender pay gap within their workforce (Equality and Human Rights Commissions, 2022). It can be assessed that such regulations force organisations to become transparent regarding the existence or nonexistence of gender desecration in the workforce. Consequently, this has helped in increasing the investments of organisations to attain equal pay status for all employees as attaining equal pay helps in reassuring stakeholders regarding the social responsiveness of companies. Moreover, failure to comply with the regulation can also lead to legal actions against companies and has the potential of resulting in an unlimited fine if convicted by the court (Equality and Human Rights Commissions, 2022).

Furthermore, in order to protect women from pay-gaps and discriminatory practices post-pregnancy, the UK government has made it a rule for organisations to offer up to 52 months of maternity leave, out of which the first 26 months are called "Ordinary Maternity Leave" and the next 26 months are "Additional Maternity Weeks". In Statutory maternity leave, employees are paid 90% of their average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks and in the subsequent weeks, they receive 90% of their AWE or £151.97, whichever is lower (GOV, 2022). It can thus be assessed that the government restrictions have helped women in ensuring equal treatment during times of pregnancy and consequently is a productive intervention by the UK government.

2.6 Impact of Gender Pay Gap on Satisfaction and Performance of Employees

The COVID-19 pandemic situation has contributed to the large disruption of the global population across multiple dimensions. However, the impacts were worse against women as compared to women who had to deal with the financial situation, health and family situations on a much larger scale as compared to men (Etheridge and Spantig, 2020). It can be assessed that the stress that the job insecurity that women faced in the challenging times was worse than that faced by men. Hosang and Bhui (2018) commented that gender discrimination has been correlated with psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic disorder and major depression and the gender pay gap has also been identified as one form of such gender discrimination. It can be assessed that the emergence of mental illness would have a negative impact on the ability of the employees to concentrate and perform better and consequently, their ability to work well is compromised. Andrade et al. (2019) commented that organisations that are able to maintain high job satisfaction levels are more likely to increase their competitiveness, attain greater achievement and productivity. However, in case the women employees are unsatisfied with the existing gender pay gap, their motivation to work for the betterment of the company would decline and therefore, the employee turnover rate increase.

According to a study conducted by Costa Dias et al. (2020), the wage progression for women is inhibited or slowed down after childbirth and by the time the child reaches the age of 18, the gap in wages amounts to 50%. It can thus be assessed that the stress levels of the women working in organisations significantly increases as they fear being paid unjustly as compared to their male counters. According to Hopper (2020), employees expect to be well rewarded for their contribution within organisations and consequently lack of fulfilment of their physiological needs would result in low satisfaction levels. In absence of a motivated and dedicated workforce, organisations fail to optimally utilise their workforce and therefore lose productivity. According to Andrade et al. (2019), no significant difference exists among men and women when it comes to factors that determine their job satisfaction levels. Understandingly, it can be assessed that when women employees feel that they are not being sufficiently paid, their job satisfaction levels decline.

2.7 The concept of Gender Equality

In order to establish a prosperous, sustainable and peaceful world, gender equality is a necessary requirement. Increased equality in terms of educational opportunities, social responsibilities and professional opportunities would help in increasing the participation of women in the betterment of society (UN, 2022). It can thus be assessed the importance of developing a society where discrimination on the basis of gender does not exist is important for ensuring sustainable growth. According to Agarwal (2018), the United Nations (UN) has identified gender equality as a sustainable goal that needs to be attained on a global scale by 2030. It has also been stated that the development of a society where gender equality is a must would help in creating equal opportunities in the field of the food sector and consequently, improve food security. However, it has been noted that women do not have equal access to land and this is because of the male bias regarding inheritance laws.

According to Madgavkar et al. (2020), the CAGR progress for women's participation in senior management roles of organisations has developed by 1.4% between 2014 to 2019. It can thus be analysed from it that the power of women within organisations is slowing on a rise and consequently, the structure of companies to provide equal growth opportunities to women has developed. Furthermore, the representation of women in politics has also increased between 2014 and 2019 by 4.2%, which is an indication of the growing tendency of gender equality. Another positive indication of women's welfare is the fall in cases of child marriage from 2014 to 2019 by 2.4%. However, Madgavkar et al. (2020) commented that the representation of women is likely to reduce after the COVID-19 Pandemic as 33 million fewer women would be able to find employment in the gender-regressive scenario. Understandingly, it can be assessed that the need for policies that would help in improving gender equality is essential.

2.8 Benefits of Equal Pay for all employees

According to Boll et al. (2016), the benefit of ensuring equal pay for all employees on the basis of their skills and education would help in reducing the poverty rate of the nation and consequently is highly suitable for improving the economy. It can be assessed that the development of practices that treat employees equally irrespective of their gender would create a positive work environment. This would ensure that the employees would feel motivated to work better in hopes of improved efficiency. According to Kurdi et al. (2020), employee satisfaction is a crucial element for ensuring organisational success in the service industry. It has been stated that employee satisfaction increases the long-term productivity of the employees and this is positively proportional to the quality that they offer to customers. Consequently, it can be assessed that equal treatment of women in a workplace would help in increasing their job satisfaction levels as they would feel to be properly acknowledged for their work and thereby their motivation and productivity would improve. This would have a good impact on customer experience and consequently, customer retention would improve as well.

Kurdi et al. (2020) also mentioned that fair treatment of employees and ample growth opportunities increase employee satisfaction. Equal pay, growth opportunities and compensation packages would help in retaining employees as they would feel motivated to be chosen for promotions. At the same time, increased representation in leadership roles would improve the brand image and consequently, attract more talents and investors to the company. It can be interpreted that the high representation of women in an organisation indicates the commitment of the company to providing equal opportunities for growth to the employees and this increases the brand reputation of the company. Furthermore, employees who are willing to work for a just and ethical company are also attracted to the organisation, as a result of which the talent management productivity improves. According to Marasinghe and Wijayaratne (2018), five factors impact employee satisfaction, namely. Compensation, promotion, supervision, co-workers and work. Understandingly, improving the scopes of promotion and fair compensation along with equal treatment from the co-workers would improve the employee satisfaction levels.

2.9 Relevant Theories

2.9.1 Occupational Segregation

Occupational Segregation on the basis of gender refers to the unequal distribution of men's and women's participation across different sectors. Occupational segmentation theory is crucial for understanding the concept of gender inequality in the labour market. According to this theory, women enter sectors that are female-dominated in nature and males prefer working in sectors that are male-dominated. According to García-Mainar et al., (2018), a majority of women-dominating sectors are underpaying and consequently, it can be assessed that the work of women is institutionally being undervalued. This theory can thus be correlated with gender biases and stereotypical thinking of society.

2.9.2 Adams Theory of Equity

Adam's Equity theory is reliable for understanding the impacts of the gender pay gap on the productivity levels of the employees. According to Ryan (2016), the theory states that human motivation is a function of the ratio of the employee inputs and employer outputs as perceived by the employees. As per this theory, employees aim to maintain equity of the contributions they make to organisational success and the amount of reward and remuneration they receive. Accordingly, in absence of sufficient rewards and motivators, the employees feel demotivated to work and consequently, their contribution deteriorates. Conversely, when the employees feel that they are optimally rewarded for their services, the employee motivation levels to work harder improve in hopes of better rewards and thus organisational performance improves. In the context of the gender pay gap, closing it and ensuring equal rewards for men and women would encourage the employees to perform better and consequently, their productivity and organisational profitability would improve.

2.10 Strategies to overcome the gender pay gap

According to Chang and Milkman (2020), overcoming gender-related biases is crucial for improving the efficiency of decision-making practices within an organisation as the presence of such bias, the impacts on women can be pervasive and consequential for employee welfare. Furthermore, it has been noted that this can also negatively impact the welfare of the organisation and consequently strategies that help in overcoming gender bias are required. As per Chang and Milkman (2020), elimination of the aspect of gender from the decision-making process by collectively thinking of the workforce is an effective practice of overcoming gender bias. Blind decision-making practice while determining the payment of employees by only considering their job roles and efficiency instead of considering their gender can help in overcoming the gender pay gap. Another strategy recommended by Chang and Milkman (2020) is substituting the gender of the female employees to ‘males’ while evaluating their performance in terms of determining salary and compensation for eliminating in scopes of unintentional bias of thinking.

Chang and Milkman (2020) have also recommended individuating employees rather than relying on stereotypes while making decisions. Individualising information about each employee would help in filling the knowledge gap with facts instead of prejudice and stereotypes and consequently, makes the process of decision-making. For instance, considering the behaviour, attitude, performance and efficiency of each employee while evaluating their salary package would help in reducing the chances of the gender pay gap. According to Miller and Vagins (2020), conducting pay audits where the employers voluntarily audit their salary structures for ensuring that the employees are being paid as per the market rate. It can be assessed that unbiased pay audits would help in identifying the employees for whom the salary needs to be revised and consequently improve the gender equality among its employees. Miller and Vagins (2020) commented that banning the settlement of salary in the previous site of employment and relying on the skills and expertise of the candidates while determining their salary would also help in enduing cases of pay gap compounding. It can thus be assessed that treating employees on the basis of their value in the organisation rather than their gender and existing discriminatory perceptions would help in overcoming the gender pay gap.

2.11 Conclusion

On the basis of the above-presented literature review, the researchers have learnt that closing the gap of gender pay is crucial for ensuring the viability of the organisation as it is a form of gender discrimination that negatively impact the productivity and loyalty of the workforce. The literature review has also helped in identifying strategies that can be used for overcoming gender biases in decision-making and this would help the researchers to present relevant recommendations for the management of HSBC. Understanding the impacts of government interventions has also increased the awareness of the researchers regarding the current state of gender discrimination in the work environment of the UK.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

Research Methodology is defined as the set of techniques and procedures that are carefully selected and used by researchers for identifying, selecting, processing and analysing data for conducting a research project. The chapter on research methodology is used by researchers for evaluating the reliability and validity of the research. The selection of the research methodology is determined by the resource available for the study and the aims and objectives that the research proposes to meet.

3.2 Research Philosophy

The assumptions and knowledge that are associated with the research are defined by its research philosophy. This concept deals with the way in which the knowledge is developed in the research project (BRM, 2022). In the case of dissertations, four commonly used research philosophies are realism, positivism, interpretivism and pragmatism. While positivism philosophy states that it is possible to understand the world objectively, interpretivism states that it is only possible to understand the social world by interpreting information as per the situation. According to positivism, quantifiable observations is a dominant form of research as it supports statistical analyses (BRM, 2022). Interpretivism philosophy supports consideration of social factors and individual differences for the understanding meaning of concepts and therefore, subjective data collection is preferred (BRM, 2022). As this research requires understanding the collective responses of the employees of HSBC regarding the impacts of the gender pay gap and for that purpose, positivism philosophy is chosen in this dissertation.

3.3 Research Approach

The procedure and general plan that researchers follow for meeting the research objectives and aims is called the research approach. It can be categorised into three types, they are inductive, abductive and deductive reasoning (BRM, 2022). In the deductive reasoning approach, researchers make assumptions and then test their validity by referring to existing literature. On the other hand, inductive reasoning focuses on generating new theories and generalisations on the basis of the conducted research. In the case of abductive reasoning, elements of both inductive and deductive reasoning are considered (BRM, 2022). The deductive approach has fewer risks associated with it, the process is less time consuming and can be used when abundant sources of literature are available (BRM, 2022). In the case of this study, the researchers have limited time for conducting this research and abundant literature relating to gender discrimination and gender-pay gap and consequently, a deductive reasoning approach has been chosen.

3.4 Research Design

The framework of choosing research methods for data collection and analysis to answer the research questions is called research design. The two types of research design and explanatory and conclusive. In explanatory research, the aim is to explore different aspects of the research topic. On the other hand, in the case of conclusive research, the aim is to generate findings that can help in decision-making by providing recommendations (BRM, 2022). This dissertation will be presenting recommendations that can be useful for HSBC to overcome its gender pay gap problem and consequently, a conclusive research design has been chosen.

3.5 Data Collection Method

The process of gathering information from different sources for answering research questions is called data collection. Based on the source of data, the data collection method can be classified into two types, they are primary data collection and secondary data collection. In the case of secondary data collection, the data is collected from existing literature. On the other hand, on primary data collection, the researchers collect data from human sources or by making an observation from the sample. The key advantage of primary data collection is that it contributes to expanding the literature by producing fresh data. However, the key disadvantage of primary data collection is that it is time taking (BRM, 2022). As the dissertation is aimed at finding new recommendations to mitigate the problem faced by companies in terms of the Gender Pay Gap, the primary data collection method has been chosen. Selecting this method has also helped in making the research unique in nature and therefore, it is highly preferable as well.

3.6 Data Collection Instruments

The instrument that is used for collecting data is largely dependent on the form of data that is being collected. In the case of primary data, two forms of data can be collected, they are quantitative data and qualitative data. In quantitative data, the data is subjective and consequently can be converted into statistical information for analysis. On the other hand, in qualitative data, the data is objective and therefore in-depth information can be analysed. Some effective quantitative data collection instruments are survey questionnaires with close end questions and observations. Survey questionnaires are advantageous for quantitative data collection as they can be used for high representativeness and the cost of conducting them is also low and observer subjectivity is negligible (Sincero, 2022). Due to the lack of a high amount of time to conduct a qualitative assessment and the existence of financial constraints, the dissertation would be conducting a survey questionnaire.

3.7 Sampling

The specific principles that are followed and used for selecting members of the population are called sampling. Sampling is essential as it is not feasible for researchers to efficiently collect information from a large target population and consequently, only a number of elements within a population can be chosen for representing the entire population (BRM, 2022). The key advantage of effective sampling is maintaining the cost of research, providing sufficient time to assess information, accelerating the pace of data collection and making the research manageable. In the probability-based sampling technique, the chances of participating for each member of the population is known; while in non-probability sampling, the participants are chosen non-randomly (BRM, 2022). This research will be using a random sampling method for ensuring fair chances of participation and representation within the workforce of HSBC. For ensuring the ease of conducting this research, 20 employees of HSBC would be selected at random for the questionnaire survey.

3.8 Reliability

The chances of obtaining the same result by repeating the research while following the same object of measurement in multiple numbers of research is called a measure of its reliability. It can thus be considered as the degree to which research would be producing consistent and stable results. In order to ensure that the concerned study can be considered as reliable research, quantifiable research where the research findings can be replicated is selected. In the questionnaire survey, the participants answer the questions on the basis of their personality traits and for that purpose, the answers are to be repeated even months apart and consequently, this research has high reliability associated with it (Scribbr, 2022). As this dissertation uses a questionnaire survey for conducting the primary data collection, the reliability associated with it is high.

3.9 Validity

Validity refers to the accuracy of a research methodology and instrument regarding what the research intends to measure. In the case of research with high validity, the results that are generated with research findings correspond with the variations, characteristics and properties in the social or physical world (Scribbr, 2022). In case the sample selected for the questionnaire survey has high representativeness associated with it, the data collected with the research would be highly appropriate in understanding the perception of the entire population. In the case of this research, the selection of the participants has been done is random to even the representation of the employees in the pool and for that purpose, the validity associated with it is high.

3.10 Ethics

Ethical Considerations play a major role in making research works acceptable and reputable. Safety of research participants, respect for them, honest and transparent communication with the research participants are some important factors that are considered for ethical considerations. For ensuring high ethics, the participation in the dissertation has to be voluntary and the participants must possess the right to withdraw from the study at any stage. Furthermore, compliance with Data Protection Act 2018 and Equality Act 2010 is also crucial. As per the Data Protection Act 2018, everyone who collects and uses personal data has to operate fairly, transparently and adequately as per the explicit purpose that has been mentioned while collecting the data (GOV, 2022). For ensuring compliance with the DPA 2018, the researchers would be providing consent forms to the participants for ensuring that they are aware of the research purpose. According to the Equality Act 2010, all types of discrimination in wider society is prohibited by the law (GOV, 2022). For complying with this law, all questions would be carefully designed to protect the sentiment of the participants.

3.11 Limitation of the Research

Time Limitations and Fund Limitations were the two challenges that the dissertation has faced during the research work. Due to lack of ample time for conducting the research, an inductive study could not be conducted and consequently, secondary literature had to be relied upon for guiding the researchers. Moreover, the time restraint has also limited the number of questions that could be asked from the participants as analysing a large number of questions could have impacted the timeframe of the study. Fund restraints also was a hurdle for the researcher during the literature review as several paid contents could not be accessed.

3.12 Time Frame

Activity	Start Date	Duration	End Date
Topic selection	44593.00	5	06-02-2022
Background Research	06-02-2022	5	11-02-2022
Objective development	11-02-2022	3	14-02-2022
Literature Review	14-02-2022	10	24-02-2022
Primary Data Collection	24-02-2022	10	06-03-2022
Primary Data Analysis	06-03-2022	10	16-03-2022
Research Findings	16-03-2022	7	23-03-2022
Conclusions and Recommendations	23-03-2022	5	28-03-2022
Submission	28-03-2022	1	29-03-2022

Table 1: Timeline

Figure 2: Gantt chart

3.13 Conclusion

On the basis of the conducted evaluation on research methodologies, it can be concluded that this dissertation has selected positivism philosophy and deductive reasoning approach. In order to produce unique research, the researchers have conducted primary data collection and analysis using the instrument questionnaire survey involving 20 participants from the workforce of HSBC. The research has been evaluated to have high validity and reliability and ethical considerations such as taking consent from participants and ensuring compliance with DPA 2018 and EA 2010 has also been ensured.

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Gender Pay Gap's Impact on Employee Job Satisfaction at HSBC

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction

Background of the Research

Organisational Background

Significance of the Problem

Statement of Purpose