Many human resource professionals contribute to formulating pay structures, or systems that assess the value and corresponding pay of each employee or job position. Pay becomes a measure of the contribution made by an employee to his or her place of work. If a female employee receives less pay than her male counterpart, is the company inferring she is contributing less? Does the female employee view the situation this way?

Regular equal pay audits are useful tools for identifying pay gaps. Employers choose the parameters for these audits, like collecting pay data by gender.