Affirmity supports Citrix Systems Inc.’s comprehensive, industry-leading global pay-equity review process
Committed to Diversity in Tech
Citrix Systems Inc. is a multinational software company with 60 offices in more than 40 countries. Over 400,000 organizations rely on Citrix to provide various server, application, networking, security, and cloud computing technologies to 100 million end-users.
Citrix’s leadership places particular emphasis on the organization’s environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) measures, enhancing the sustainability and positive societal impact of its operations. The organization’s long-held values play a key role in its strategic thinking.
Citrix has worked with Affirmity (and PeopleFluent, from which Affirmity spun-off) for over a decade. While this work has historically focused on topics like compliance and affirmative action processes, when Citrix decided to consolidate its pay equity analysis process, Affirmity was the natural partner.
The Challenge: Complexity, Consistency and a Competitive Advantage
As with other sectors, the tech industry makes better products when people of all backgrounds and experiences are taken into consideration. Unfortunately, the industry has historically encountered issues with attracting and supporting women and underrepresented groups to the workforce. For example, the share of women in computing-related roles has fallen in the past three decades despite rises in other STEM fields. To promote diversity, Citrix is taking action, including actively recruiting underrepresented groups, investing in non-profits, and running citizenship initiatives.
Pay equity is a crucial element of its efforts. Citrix has historically conducted analyses and reports in several countries, including in the US, the UK and France, prior to working with Affirmity. However, these pre-Affirmity reports were produced to different specifications and managed by different teams on different schedules. The fact that they were not all done together made it difficult to draw strategic conclusions across the whole global workforce.
“We recognized that, as a global company, we needed a globally consistent but regionally sensitive approach to DEI&B (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) issues. Our long-time collaboration with Affirmity led to an exploration of how we could continue to build upon our equity initiative. The resulting Global Gender Pay Equity Analysis is a critical tool in our ongoing effort to create a fair and welcoming culture for everyone.” – Scott Ballina, Senior Director of Diversity, Belonging, & Giving at Citrix Systems Inc.
The Solution: A Comprehensive Global Gender Pay Equity Analysis
To achieve a more holistic view of pay equity, the Citrix Global Compensation team identified the need to consolidate its pay equity processes with a single service provider. This would also allow the organization to apply a consistent methodology across borders.
Affirmity’s compensation and pay equity analysis solution brings this global information on pay equity into a single product. It produces summarized report formats that Citrix’s DEI&B and HR teams can use in various parts of the business to affect real change. Furthermore, Affirmity’s experts work through the large, geographically dispersed dataset and provide additional analysis on areas of statistical significance. This support enables Citrix to measure the success of its DEI&B efforts and to focus on areas that require further review or action.
“We considered a third-party perspective essential for creating an informed, well-rounded, unbiased report, but Affirmity’s work has gone above and beyond. They have been a pleasure to work with, trustworthy with the handling of sensitive information, and absolutely spot on with their recommendations. Their team shares our aspiration to drive pay fairness. Affirmity has helped us ‘thread the needle’ and further our global strategy of providing equitable reward opportunities for all employees.” – Kristina Santos, Senior Director, Global Compensation at Citrix Systems Inc.
The Result: Proof of an Equitable Culture
Statistics derived from Citrix’s pay equity analysis are published in Citrix’s annual reporting. In 2019, for example, the organization was able to show that among 156 job families analyzed globally, 154 displayed no statistically significant pay difference.
Regarding data analyzed for under-represented minority groups in the United States and gender globally, less than 0.5% potential issues were found, down from 0.9% in the prior year. During Citrix’s 2020 compensation planning cycle, any unexplained pay differences were addressed by increasing pay to maintain pay equity, advancing Citrix’s zero inequity goal.
“It would have taken at least 300+ hours to complete this work fully in-house, without Affirmity as a partner. That’s time now freed-up in which we can focus our efforts on value-added insights and proactive, educational discussion regarding pay equity.” – Kristina Santos, Senior Director, Global Compensation at Citrix Systems Inc.