Three years ago, I presented a webinar with data showing that female food co-op general managers (GMs) were paid significantly less than male GMs. Since then, Columinate has rolled out a new version of the database I drew on for my data, with the ability to collect more detailed and nuanced information.

Along with updated data and charts, with help from Mike Houston we have testimonials from co-op managers on the high value of what is shared through the Columinate Compensation Database.

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Notes on the data:

• • Size categories: The graphs in this article sort the participating co-ops into the size categories used by National Co+op Grocers (NCG). Aligning our data with NCG categories required making slight revisions to the 2021 charts for our updated comparison.
  • Total compensation: The figures used are for total compensation, comprising base salary, expected contingent pay, and deferred compensation.
  • Database: For the purposes of this update, I am using a sample of 117 GMs who have entered their compensation information in the Columinate Compensation Database in the past two years. Of those GMs, 47 identify as female or non-binary, 70 as male.
  • Department managers: In addition to a three-year update of GM data, we have our first summary data for departmental managers.

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Watch this video for a deeper look into Columinate’s Compensation Database and Gender Equity among GM’s.

**Special thanks to NCG for sponsoring the Compensation Database!**

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Charting the gender difference

According to the US Department of Labor, on average, women working full-time, year-round, are paid 83.7% of what men are paid. How are co-ops doing in comparison?

In 2021, the differences in pay by gender were stark in some categories. For the very smallest co-ops, female GMs earned only 73% of what their male peers earned. In the next category up, the Small co-ops, the figure was 75%. In the other categories, the percent of differences ranged through the 80s. In no category were the female GMs close to parity.

For many cooperators, these numbers came as a shock. Shouldn’t co-ops be more equitable than mainstream employers when it comes to compensation by gender? From interviews I conducted with 30 female GMs at that time, I learned that a plurality had turned down raises their boards offered (often out of a desire by the GM to first raise the pay of other staff); others did not feel they were qualified to ask for more; a few had felt shut down by their boards when they did advocate for themselves; and another few had asked for more and felt they were being fairly compensated.

Tracking progress

Once the 2021 data and the pay equity gap became public knowledge, some female GMs shared it with their boards. And some boards acted on their own initiative to determine whether they were equitably compensating their GM. Three years later, we see smaller, though still significant, pay gaps between male and female GMs.

In the charts and commentary below, we show:

• the 2024 data for all stores;
• a chart showing each store size with both the 2021 and 2024 data;
• a chart and discussion of departmental manager compensation.
• gender equity recommendations for boards and managers

Internal vs. external hires
What factors contribute to the remaining pay gap between male and female GMs?

It is not from differences in cost of living. Male GMs are not concentrated in areas with higher costs of living compared to female GMs.

It is not from differences in length of time in the position. At every length of service category (less than 2 years, 2 to 5 years, 5 to 10 years, and over 10 years), male GMs average higher pay.

However, there does appear to be a correlation between compensation and whether a GM was promoted from within or recruited from outside.

Both male and female GMs hired from within are paid less than their externally hired peers. But for most size categories, there are more female than male GMs among the internally hired.

On the one hand, it’s understandable for a board to offer less to an internally hired candidate who has no previous GM experience and will need an investment in their development. On the other hand, internally hired candidates continue to be penalized over time, never catching up to their externally hired peers, even with years of experience under their belts. In my observation, internal candidates (both male and female) are less likely than external candidates to negotiate for more than what they are offered.

Contingent pay and deferred compensation

A partial factor in the total compensation gap between male and female managers is the role of contingent pay and deferred compensation. Contingent pay is compensation paid out upon achievement of specific, agreed-upon goals or conditions, usually quarterly or annual. Thirty percent of male GMs have some form of contingent pay, while only 17% of female GMs do. (However, among co-op GMs overall, contingent pay appears to be declining in popularity: Click here to read more

With deferred compensation, some portion of compensation is set aside, invested, and paid out later. Retirement plans are a common example. Only 14 (12%) of GMs in the database have any form of deferred compensation, but of those, ten are men and four are women. It’s important to consider the role of deferred compensation in gender inequity. As an article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy explains it:

Pay inequity does not end with the paycheck. It ripples through every aspect of women’s financial lives. It affects how much a woman can put into her retirement account and how much the employers add when they match it. It affects Social Security payments after retirement….

What is more, although retired women have less income to live on than men, they are statistically likely to live longer, with a greater need of retirement income.

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Racial equity among co-op GMs

With the advent of the new Columinate Compensation Database in 2021, we began to track results by race as well as other characteristics. GMs can choose whether to self-identify as Black, Indigenous or Person of Color (BIPOC). For the Medium, Large, Extra Large and Extra Extra Large co-ops, there are at least three GMs in each category who identified as BIPOC. All but one of them are compensated at, above, or very close to the average.

Keep in mind that these are very small datasets. It’s not possible to show details without eroding the anonymity of individual GMs. Over time, with a higher representation of BIPOC GMs in the future, tracking compensation by race could yield more detailed results.

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Gender pay equity in other management positions

The Columinate Compensation Database tracks 31 management positions in addition to general managers. Eighty-one co-ops have entered data for at least one other management position.

There are three angles to explore to measure gender pay equity, and each is presented below:

• Compare average pay for male and female managers in the same position.
• Compare pay rates of jobs held overwhelmingly by males or females.
• Compare pay rates of managers within individual co-ops.

1) Comparing average pay for male and female managers in the same position

When it comes to manager pay, the size of the co-op in terms of sales volume is the defining factor. The accompanying graph compares average pay between men and women holding the same position.

For finance managers who supervise a multi-person finance department, both male and female jobholders work in co-ops ranging from Large to Extra Extra Large, but the female finance managers tend to be more concentrated in the larger co-ops than the males. We see the same pattern with HR managers who supervise a multi-person HR department. In both these cases, the female managers earn more than males. For store operations managers in single-store co-ops, the average pay rates for men and women are very close to parity. While the IT/POS and prepared foods manager salaries are starkly different by gender, the males in those positions are working in all sizes of co-ops, while the females are concentrated in smaller co-ops. The same is true for grocery managers, though the differences in pay are not as dramatic.

2) Comparing pay rates between jobs held primarily by males and primary by females

One of the factors driving pay inequity in our society is the gendered nature of certain jobs. For example, childcare workers and long-term care workers are overwhelmingly female and tend to be poorly paid. Even schoolteachers and nurses, professionals with degrees, are not as well paid as other positions that carry less responsibility and require less skill.

In the Columinate Compensation Database, the jobs of facilities managers, IT managers, and meat department managers are held almost exclusively by men, while HR and finance managers who have no departments and wellness managers are almost exclusively women. It is not surprising that the female HR and marketing managers tend to be concentrated in co-ops doing under $15 million in sales per year. However, it is worth asking why wellness managers are paid so much less than meat managers, given the knowledge base required of wellness managers and their potential contribution to the margin. It may be because the job market values meat managers more than wellness managers. Your local job market provides valuable data that you cannot ignore in terms of setting a floor, but the market also reflects systemic bias in our society.

3) Pay equity between management team members in the same co-op

Most co-ops that entered salaries for entire management teams in the database showed results consistent with pay equity. Male and female managers appeared to be paid within a shared pay range, with the greatest differences accounted for by seniority.

However, in a few cases, the data on management team pay raises questions: Why is the male IT/POS manager paid much more than the female HR and marketing managers who have been with the organization as long? Why is the male commissary manager paid more than the female store manager? There could be reasonable explanations for these discrepancies. But it is worth asking: could it be that the male managers negotiated for a higher salary, while the women accepted the salaries they were offered?

The perils of negotiating salaries

The opportunity to negotiate starting pay rates is a potential driver of gender pay inequity. Men initiate negotiations about four times as often as women, and of those who ask for more, 84% receive it. So why don’t women more often negotiate for more? Is it that they lack self-confidence? That may be part of it, but women also recognize that they pay a social cost for coming across as self-confident and assertive. Especially when starting out in a new organization, women are rightly concerned about damaging relationships with the people they will be working with.

Recommendations for GMs and HR managers on management compensation:

• Establish a pay scale that includes all management positions below GM.
• Research your local labor market for these positions in order to set a reasonable floor.
• Put the pay range in job ads, and make it narrow enough to be meaningful; some jurisdictions currently require this.
• Do not ask applicants for their previous salaries; some jurisdictions currently prohibit this, because it maintains historically lower pay rates for women.
• Consider a non-negotiation policy; if you use one, publicize it in job ads.
• Consider signing bonuses as a one-time solution for very competitive jobs; that way, inequities between management positions won’t become baked in, as they would with different starting salaries.

Internalized sexism in the boardroom

In advancing the cause of gender equity among co-op GMs, we have to consider the role of internalized sexism.

Internalized sexism, or more accurately its fraternal twins: internalized misogyny and internalized male supremacy, have thoroughly taught women two key lies. First, women are not completely competent, trustworthy, or capable of “real” leadership, and second, men are.

—Cultural bridges to justice (an anti-oppression training organization)

Internalized sexism shows up in female GMs and GM candidates themselves, but also among board members. From my own observations and from personal accounts GMs have shared with me, female board members can be very hard on female GMs in compensation negotiations, even more than male board members.

Recommendations to boards for their role in promoting gender pay equity
It is not feasible for boards to have a non-negotiation policy when hiring their one and only employee, the general manager. But here are suggestions for other steps boards can take:

• Ask all board members to do some self-introspection on sexism, internalized sexism, and personal attitudes about money.
• Never put off your GM’s evaluation and compensation process.
• If you are not already following this practice, give your GM a request for proposal, and ask the GM to submit their own compensation proposal within the parameters of the RFP.
• Ask your GM to research deferred compensation plans to help them save for retirement.
• Pay market rates now; prevent sticker shock when you have to hire a new GM.
• Value your GM; the challenges of finding a new GM are only getting harder.

My recommendations for all GMs, particularly for women

• If your board doesn’t already do so, ask for an RFP, and propose your own compensation.
• Research market data for your compensation proposal.
• Research options for deferred compensation; your benefits broker is a good place to start.
• Seek out mentors, male and female, when proposing your compensation.
• Forgoing a raise in order to elevate pay of other staff may be a strategic decision in a given year, but should not become enshrined as an ongoing practice.
• Taking a raise now will help prevent sticker shock and put the co-op in a stronger position when the board hires your successor.

Resources

For thoughtful, nuanced advice for women negotiating their compensation:

“Why Women Don’t Negotiate Their Offers,” Harvard Business Review 

For a compelling argument for eliminating salary negotiations:

“Why We Need to Eliminate Salary Negotiations Altogether,” Fast Company

For information for boards on the Request for Proposal approach to GM compensation: Click here

For help researching market data for GM and other management positions: Contact Sarah Dahl

Quotes from co-op general managers on utilizing the compensation database: Click here