Wells Fargo Releases Pay Equity Study Results

On Thursday, Wells Fargo released the results of its most recent pay equity study, which was conducted by a third-party consultant, to highlight the company’s ongoing commitment to equitable pay for its team members.

Currently, 56 percent of Wells Fargo’s team members are women, and 42 percent of its U.S. workforce are people of color. After accounting for factors such as role, tenure, and geography, the results from the study continue to show the following:

• Women based in the U.S. at Wells Fargo earn more than 99 cents for every dollar earned by their male peers.
• Team members who are people of color based in the U.S. earn more than 99 cents for every dollar earned by their white peers.

“At Wells Fargo, we have an ongoing commitment to fair and equitable compensation for all team members,” said CEO Tim Sloan. “In addition, we have made significant changes in base pay for our lowest-paid team members, improved our benefits programs, and are planning to grant restricted stock rights to approximately 250,000 team members. Our commitment to fair pay practices, along with these other investments we’re making in team members, helps ensure team members are committed to fulfilling our Vision and Values. Our goal is to have the best talent at Wells Fargo, because we know it takes all of us to best serve our customers.”

Diversity and inclusion values help shape fair compensation practices

Every year, Wells Fargo engages a third-party consultant to conduct a pay equity analysis of team members based in the U.S. who represent 93 percent of the total workforce. This analysis compares the compensation of team members performing similar work to ensure pay practices are applied consistently and fairly. Wells Fargo is also committed to pay equity globally and will look for opportunities to expand the discussion of pay equity outside the U.S. in the future.

“I’m pleased to see where we stand in terms of equitable compensation, but we still have work to do,” said Hope Hardison, chief administrative officer. “At Wells Fargo, we value diversity and inclusion — and people as a competitive advantage. The results of our most recent pay equity study are an intersection of these values.”

Wells Fargo has a strong diversity and inclusion record. For the 15th year in a row, the Human Rights Campaign issued Wells Fargo a perfect score in its 2018 Corporate Equality Index. In 2017, Diversity Inc. ranked Wells Fargo in its top 10 companies for diversity. Most recently, Wells Fargo was named a top company for diversity by Black Enterprise magazine. The company is also focused on recruiting and promoting women and people of color at all levels of the organization. For example, one-third of Wells Fargo’s Board of Directors are women and one-third are people of color. Additionally, Betsy Duke became Wells Fargo’s new independent chair on Jan. 1, making her the first female board chair of a major U.S. banking institution.

Investing in team members

In addition to equitable and market-competitive pay, Hardison cited the recent implementation of a gender-neutral parental leave benefit program and additional holiday time for U.S.-based team members as examples of how the company is investing in team members. “We’re always looking at a variety of ways to invest in team members with valuable and meaningful programs that support their overall well-being,” said Hardison. “They are our most important resource and play an integral role in providing an exceptional customer experience and propelling the company forward.”

For more stories about how Wells Fargo is helping to make our communities better, please visit Wells Fargo Stories at https://stories.wf.com/?cid=intpart_wfs_3bl_1801_0.