OPEN Imperative: Eliminate Pay Equity by 2027

Outcomes over intentions. 

This is a core operating philosophy at OpenComp - something we live and breathe every day. It’s also why a viral tweet from Dr. Monica Cox made us see what we are building in a new and bigger light.

This tweet, and the conversations that followed with other company founders, CEOs and investors, made us ask some critical questions about pay equity.

Even though we know inclusive employers earn higher revenue and grow faster few companies deliver on their pay equity goals.

Something crystallized.

Introducing the OPEN Imperative 

Over the last few months, a rapidly expanding coalition of 100s of founders, CEOs, and investors leading the world's fastest-growing companies started something important… with the urgency and passion of the radical, industry-defining shifts that the startup sector is known for.

Today, as we announce Organizations for Pay Equity Now — OPEN Imperative, we commit to end gender pay disparity in our organizations. Our moonshot goal is to narrow the gender pay gap in the startup sector by 2027.

Read the press release here.

As one member said, “Systemic pay equity change can only happen when CEOs and company leaders champion institutional change from the top down.” 

If you, too, believe that the time for lip service is over and want to create pay equity once and for all - join us.

How we’ll narrow the startup gender pay gap in 5 years

In our first year of operation, the OPEN Imperative intends to:

• Engage 5,000 active, high-growth companies 
• Deliver 400 gender pay equity reports
• Reduce gender pay gaps by 60%
• Achieve a collective average equal pay day of January 31, 2023 - 43 days earlier than Equal Pay Day on March 15 2022.

Members commit to three things: 

In exchange, they help solve one of today’s biggest business challenges and receive:

• A confidential board-ready gender pay equity report 
• Specific actions your company can take to bridge gaps in pay performance
• Exclusive access to a community of and events for like-minded founders
• Ultra-curated research, case studies and benchmark data
• Social proof: Website & social badges, coalition publicity, media features

Thank you to our founding members!

The speed in which this coalition grew from idea to reality was striking and validating. Friends joined, then corporate partners, investors, and concentric circles of our collective networks. Soon, our advisory board, consisted of leading operators and top experts in gender equality:

1. Traunza Adams, Chief of People, H1
2. Amy Cross, Founder, Gender Fair
3. Noreen Farrell, Executive Director, Equal Rights Advocates
4. Dr. C. Nicole Mason, President & CEO, Institute for Women’s Policy Research 
5. Aisha Stephenson, former Chief People Officer, Emerson Collective

Today, our hundreds of founding members include BreachRx, Company Ventures, Farmer’s Fridge, Imply.io, Landed, MentalHappy, Near, Nextdoor, Overline, Prodly, Qwick, Sarwa, Uqual, and many more.

Thank you to those who have joined us in creating a world we want for our families, children, and friends by narrowing the gender pay gap— and to those who will help us redefine industry standards for good.

Will you join us?

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Emily Sweet is Entrepreneur in Residence and OPEN Imperative Lead at OpenComp. She writes about topics including pay equity and diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI). A board member of the National Council of Jewish Women, Emily was a 2013 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and the 2013 recipient of the Jewish Federation of Chicago’s Samuel A. Goldsmith Award. Connect with her on LinkedIn here.