Discrimination, labour market shortages, and business results.
I believe that the recruitment policy described is discriminatory. To pay female shop assistants less than male counterparts for the same role is discrimination, no matter how much difficulty it may be to hire men for jobs that require physical effort. The real problem is the sex-based differences in pay compared with pay on the basis of job-related objective criteria. In any case, there are some reasonable cases for differentiation, but these must be based on job needs rather than personal characteristics. For instance, if a role genuinely requires a certain physical capability, selection must be done based on skill in executing the particular task rather than gender. Even in that situation, pay should be based on the role, not by whom a person does the role. The literature consistently demonstrates the detrimental impact of discrimination on corporate performance. It lowers employees’ motivation, contributes to turnover, hurts the company’s image and reduces the pool of talent available to the company. Discriminatory practices breed distrust and failure to produce the desired result, long term, and these are greater than any short-term staffing convenience. Businesses relying on fair, transparent, meritocratic procedures do better in terms of engagement, productivity, and sustainable performance.
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