Initiative

Logib-D "Lohngleichheit im Betrieb-Deutschland" ("Pay Equality in companies - Germany“)

Summary of the initiative

Logib-D was introduced in 2009 by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in Germany to detect the extent of a potentially existing gender pay gap at the company-level and its causes so that appropriate HR policies can be adopted. Logib-D is conducted by a consortium under the management of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW Köln) – Germany`s leading private economic research institute. Its members are employers` and business associations as well as companies.

BDA (Confederation of German Employers` Associations) supports Logib-D, a free-of-charge software tool for analyzing the causes of gender pay differences in German companies. The company’s management obtains valuable information about gender-related pay structures and, therefore, gains knowledge on how to reduce the causes for potentially existing wage differences between women and men. Logib-D is voluntarily applied and it can contribute to a positive culture where in-house discussions about gender pay differences can prosperously be held. Thus, it can foster the implementation of the issue gender pay equality in strategic HR management (e.g. in the recruitment process) in the long-run.

The Logib-D software (an Excel- and Online-Tool) is available via the project website. In detail, the software performs a regression analysis including many pay-related factors (e.g. education, job tenure, potential work experience, job complexity and hierarchical status) to show how these factors affect the gender pay gap. Employment breaks can also be considered by reducing the duration of job tenure (since firm-entry of an employee).

In addition, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in Germany has offered 200 consulting packages free-of-charge for interested companies. Following an application process, a consultation based on an advanced version of the Logib-D Online-Tool is performed for the entitled companies. This includes a more comprehensive data analysis and a professional consultation with an inhouse workshop to discuss gender pay-related questions and policy options. Finally, all successful companies receive the label “Logib-D geprüft” (Logib-D approved) and are invited to the “Logib-D Erfahrungszirkel” (Logib-D network meeting), a forum to discuss gender-related topics with the ministry, the project partners and other participants.

BDA is member of the Logib-D advisory board and, thus, can effectively support the German Federal Family Ministry by e.g. selecting the companies that can benefit from the consultation package.