KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): Philip Morris Malaysia (PMM) Sdn Bhd, a country affiliate of Philip Morris International (PMI), is the first company in the country to obtain the Equal Salary certification from the Equal Salary Foundation.

The Equal Salary certification is a process that allows companies to verify and communicate that they pay their female and male employees equally for the same job or for a job of the same value.

It is aimed at companies in all countries and across all industries with 50 or more employees (of which at least 10 are women) that are committed to closing the wage gap. Malaysia’s gender pay gap stood at 23%, according to the World Economic Forum’s The Global Gender Gap Report 2018.

“Our success as a company depends on a talented and diverse workforce — where individuals enjoy opportunities to learn, grow and prosper in their career. This means providing fair and equal remuneration for men and women for equivalent work, and at PMM, our values and principles call for nothing less,” PMM managing director Kang Tae Koo said in a statement.

Alongside the quantitative comparison of salary data, the Equal Salary certification methodology involves a qualitative audit of management commitment to equal pay principles, of employee perception of that commitment and of HR policies and practices to identify any potential gender blind spots. It recommends actions to mitigate them.

The certification further helps identify areas for improvement and supports efforts to address the broader challenge of closing any gender talent gaps. This includes introducing flexible working arrangements and addressing gender bias across the employee journey.