Elma Zukic

Jose Raya Perez

Interview Questions
Interviewee: Guadalupe A.
Question 1:
1) Part 1: How could you describe the gender wage gap in your industry?
a) Women are considered a minority, much of the management mainly consists of
men. Men usually make a little more even though both men and women do the
same job, education, and duties they always make a little more. But our company
is working hard on establishing and everything diverse by providing the same
training and benefits.
2) Part 2: Is there a huge difference between male and female wage?
a) There isn’t a huge difference between pay between male and female. It usually
falls on how engaged, committed, and how much of a leader someone is in order
to make more money. Everyone may have the same experience and knowledge
but it doesn't mean everyone has the skills to become a manager.
3) Part 3: How has the gender gap size closed over the past years?
a) Every year we have to track and report the Affirmative Action Report in order to
avoid discrimination and provide the same opportunities to everyone regardless
the background. Slowly but surely women are exploring new degrees, because the
majority of the time women don’t pursue engineering because it is a male
dominated industry. We do a compensation analysis to provide the best pay to
everyone that applies, it all falls down to your experience, degree, and knowledge
on the job you are applying for so the more skills you possess the higher pay
you’ll recieve. When hiring we don’t look at your sex, race, or religion in order to
hire we just usually go with the person with the most experience.
Question 2:
1) Part 1: Do you believe there's a correlation between higher education, pay, and employee
retention?
a) Yes, I see a correlation between higher education, pay, and employee retention.
For example we had an employee who was a manager, he went to school and
obtained a Master's degree. This employee climbed the ladder rapidly, he started
up as a student intern, then became a manager, then a plant manager, and where
he is now a Director Of Operations. He was a very sought after employee by other
companies because of his experience and skills he possessed. He tried to leave
three times and each time we retained him because we matched the salary the
other companies were offering. Sometimes people may not have the same wage
but to compensate we offer bonuses at the end of each quarter, 6 months, or year.
 2) Part 2: Do women who have a higher education make a similar or near equivalent pay as
men who have been in the work field?
a) Here at the company I work at they do make the same money, but promotions are
a little bit different for women than it is for men. For example, we had a girl who
was a financial analyst who has a masters degree and has been an analyst for
many years. The next step for her was to be a Plant Controller. A new position
opened in which she applied and interviewed for, but did not get the job because
she had one skill that she lacked which was manager experience. She later felt
like she didn’t get the job because she was a woman. She felt as if she was a man
she would have got the position.
3) Part 3: Do women with a high school diploma or equivalent education and lower pay
bring negative attitudes to the workplace?
a) No there is no correlation between that because we have had a receptionist for
example and they bring great attitudes it just depends what type of personality a
person may have. Even college graduates may have a higher pay and a good
position but aren't the friendliest of people. Pay however does have a correlation
with negative attitudes because on yearly reviews employees come in
complaining coworkers make more money than they do. The reason these
employees don't get a higher pay is because they get comfortable and don't want
to challenge themselves to improve their work quality and we see that when we
go out to the field we sometimes catch them on their phones once they finish their
work and don't look for something to keep them busy.
Question 3:
1) Part 1: How does the company deal with parental leave and how likely are women to
return to work after their time frame for maternity leave has expired?
a) Here at the company I work at we are beyond generous with parental leave.
California is one of the states that enforces the most acts to help employees have
time off with parental leave. In order to qualify for parental leave they must be
working for the company for 12 months or more. We are a very generous
company and help our employees accommodate for their time off. Of course if
you come and ask for time off a week before you expect to have a parental leave
your request will be put on hold. This is mainly because sometimes you may be
the only person in that department that is still available, your parental leave is still
valid and you will be given your time off but it will be at a later time. So to
answer your question women are more than likely to return to work after their
time frame for maternity has expired.
2) Part 2: Do you think maternity leave for women is a factor for a lower wage or employee
turnover?
a) No we can’t discriminate because it's against the law our employees are protected
by the laws. Once they return from their leave all the tasks they had before must
be the same once they return.
 3) Part 3: Is employee retention after maternity-leave higher when someone holds a higher
position?
a) Yes because the higher position you have the more money you have to pay for a
babysitter or someone to look after their child. When Covid hit we gave our
employees a Family First Act where we paid our employees up to 10 days for
them to arrange their child's needs because child care was closed and many
services were closed. Someone who makes $15 an hour won’t return to work
because the money they make will be just to pay the babysitter compared to
someone who makes $80,000 who would be able to afford it.
Question 4:
1) Part 1: Have employees ever been diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety?
a) Yes I have had employees who have actually taken time off because they were
diagnosed with anxiety and depression.
2) Part 2: Is it more common to see women being diagnosed with depression/anxiety than
men?
a) Yes in my work experience I have seen more women being diagnosed with
depression or anxiety than men.
3) Part 3: Do you think wage might be a factor to women being depressed or experiencing
anxiety?
a) No, not in my experience pay/wage has been a factor to women being depressed
or experiencing anxiety
Question 5:
1) Part 1: If you were to have a say on the salary of the employees at your job, would you
keep it the same as it is currently?
a) In my opinion I think it would depend on the position but on the majority I would
definitely increase it. In my experience in the shop there's not any women in there
and the reason why is because it's heavy labor and dangerous. Before COVID
women used to come and asked to apply but didn’t know what the job consisted
of. The shops were dirty, long hours, and were hot because we work with
furnaces. Out of 250 employees in the shop only 3 of them were women. At times
women would leave during lunch and not come back because it was heavy labor
for just $13 dollars an hour.
2) Part 2: Would women be making more, or would men? Or would you make sure the
salary was 100% equal?
a) I would make sure the salary was equal. The only times that would change would
be depending down on the experience, leadership, and knowledge.
3) Part 3: If men were to still make more, what is your reasoning behind it?
a) The only reason men would make more would be of education, qualifications, and
experience.
Question 6:
1) Part 1: Do you think your company would have more talented employees if your pay
wage was equalized?
 a) Yes I do because we had to restructure and let go of people in which some
employees had to cover for that other person who was let go for the same wage
and had the same expectations as before doing the job of 2. Many left because
they did more work but weren’t compensated for their extra work.
2) Part 2: Has anyone left your company due to unequal wages between men and women? If
yes, was there change made afterwards?
a) No no one has left due to unequal wages between men and women.
3) Part 3: Does your company have a reputation when it comes to pay wage? Is it positive
or negative?
a) It depends on where it comes from, for example for production some companies
pay more than we do but it's not up to me because I have a limit on how much I
can offer them. As a whole we do have a good reputation when it comes to pay
wage.
Question 7:
1) Part 1: Does your company have pay transparency? Meaning are they open about how
much they pay their employees?
a) We are open about the pay range a certain position makes from a minimum to a
maximum salary amount. Without discussing a specific person's wage we are
transparent
2) Part 2: If not, do you think they do not have transparency because there is a wage gap
between employees?
a) N/A
3) Part 3: If so, does the pay transparency bring in more applicants? Or does it not impact
potential and current employees?
a) It does bring in more applicants because you tell them the minimum but you let
them know that there is a quarterly bonus and we offer paid benefits. We have
several benefit options available for the employees, while many other companies
don't offer benefits. This company pays a lot for our employees benefits, the
percentage is high.
Question 8:
1) Part 1: How competitive is it to get a job at your company?
a) It is very competitive for a person to work here, even out in production, we may
not pay the highest but we are competitive with what the market is. For example if
the average is $13 dollars an hour we will start them off on $14 or $15 dollars an
hour. We provide great benefits such as holiday pay, sick pay, bonuses, 401k
plans, retirement plans, and quarterly bonuses. One thing I will tell you is we
work people off a lot, like for example myself I would work eleven hours a day
Monday through Friday and sometimes even Sundays. An important thing in HR
is employee relations. Employees stay because we take care of our employees,
such as if you have to leave early we don't want you to be scared to ask us
 because we want to work with you. We do lunches and events for our employees,
the little things we do is something they enjoy and stay happy.
2) Part 2: If it is very competitive, do you think it is because your company offers equal pay?
If not, why is it competitive?
a) It’s competitive because we always try to pay a little above average. It is
competitive because the company offers equal pay, the only times people make
more is when they have more experience, skills, and education.
3) Part 3: If it is not competitive, do you think unequal pay is part of that reason?
a) N/A
Interviewee: Sanida Sarotic
Question 1:
4) Part 1: How could you describe the gender wage gap in your industry?
a) In the industry that I work in, Health Care, gender wage gaps are not as common.
There are some among lower staff positions, but not as much between healthcare
providers and management.
5) Part 2: Is there a huge difference between male and female wage?
a) No
6) Part 3: How has the gender gap size closed over the past years?
a) It has become much smaller over the past years. One of the reasons it is closing is
because we are becoming a union environment which includes the influence of
equal pay.

Question 2:
4) Part 1: Do you believe there's a correlation between higher education, pay, and employee
retention?
a) Yes, especially between higher education and pay. As well as higher pay and
retention. But lower education employees may stay, because the jobs in our
industry pay higher for lower education than other industries.
5) Part 2: Do women who have a higher education make a similar or near equivalent pay as
men who have been in the work field?
a) Yes
6) Part 3: Do women with a high school diploma or equivalent education and lower pay
bring negative attitudes to the workplace?
a) Yes, it is unfortunate to say that that is the case in our industry. Being a manager,
I have a staff that reports back to me. A lot of times those women come with
negative attitudes and poor work ethic. Yet, they refuse to leave the company as
they know they will not find these wages in other industries.
Question 3:
4) Part 1: How does the company deal with parental leave and how likely are women to
return to work after their time frame for maternity leave has expired?
a) Most of them return because we have maximum parental leave per CA law.
5) Part 2: Do you think maternity leave for women is a factor for a lower wage or employee
turnover?
a) No, not really.
6) Part 3: Is employee retention after maternity-leave higher when someone holds a higher
position?
a) Yes. It is extremely rare for higher position women to not come back after
maternity leave.
Question 4:
4) Part 1: Have employees ever been diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety?
a) Unfortunately, yes. A fair amount too.
 5) Part 2: Is it more common to see women being diagnosed with depression/anxiety than
men?
a) Also unfortunate, but yes.
6) Part 3: Do you think wage might be a factor to women being depressed or experiencing
anxiety?
a) Not necessarily, it is more because of their work-life balance

Question 5:
4) Part 1: If you were to have a say on the salary of the employees at your job, would you
keep it the same as it is currently?
a) No, I would raise the salary for my staff as they deserve. But I can not as they do
not have a higher education.
5) Part 2: Would women be making more, or would men? Or would you make sure the
salary was 100% equal?
a) 100% equal
6) Part 3: If men were to still make more, what is your reasoning behind it?
a) N/A
Question 6:
4) Part 1: Do you think your company would have more talented employees if your pay
wage was equalized?
a) Since our company has not much of a gender wage gap, that would not be the
reason we would get more talented employees. However, the salary in general is
not as good as our competitors, if they were raised for all we would have more
talented employees.
5) Part 2: Has anyone left your company due to unequal wages between men and women? If
yes, was there change made afterwards?
a) No
6) Part 3: Does your company have a reputation when it comes to pay wage? Is it positive
or negative?
a) Yes, negative. We have a reputation that we pay less than our competitors.

Question 7:
4) Part 1: Does your company have pay transparency? Meaning are they open about how
much they pay their employees?
a) Yes they are transparent on staff level but not management. So basically the staff
knows how much they make between each other, but management salaries are
private, nobody knows, not even other managers.
5) Part 2: If not, do you think they do not have transparency because there is a wage gap
between employees?
a) No, it is more due to privacy.
6) Part 3: If so, does the pay transparency bring in more applicants? Or does it not impact
potential and current employees?
 a) Yes, the pay transparency does bring more applicants. We are known for equal
and fair wages for all employees, and it is certainly obvious when we get
applicants.
Question 8:
4) Part 1: How competitive is it to get a job at your company?
a) Somewhat competitive
5) Part 2: If it is very competitive, do you think it is because your company offers equal pay?
If not, why is it competitive?
a) Yes, I definitely believe one of the bigger factors for the competition is our equal
wages.
6) Part 3: If it is not competitive, do you think unequal pay is part of that reason?
a) N/a
Interviewee: Merima Ronneburg
Question 1:
7) Part 1: How could you describe the gender wage gap in your industry?
a) Lately, I do not think there is much due to high demand for women in tech.
8) Part 2: Is there a huge difference between male and female wage?
a) With the tech industry, that can be a tricky question to answer. In my experience,
there is not a huge difference. However, there are plenty of companies that do
indeed have a gender wage gap for tech employees, as the tech industry is
predominantly male. Though
more women are joining this industry, the gap still exists.
9) Part 3: How has the gender gap size closed over the past years?
a) For me it has, and I know it has for several other companies, but it exists in other
tech companies as well as other industries/fields.

Question 2:
7) Part 1: Do you believe there's a correlation between higher education, pay, and employee
retention?
a) Yes, those with a higher education tend to have higher pay, especially in the tech
industry. And with higher pay, of course, comes employee retention.
8) Part 2: Do women who have a higher education make a similar or near equivalent pay as
men who have been in the work field?
a) If the men have the equivalent education, then yes. However, sometimes men tend
to have a higher salary if they have been with the company longer. Which
basically means they get bonuses and raises more often. Not always, but it
happens.
9) Part 3: Do women with a high school diploma or equivalent education and lower pay
bring negative attitudes to the workplace?
a) No, not that I have noticed.

Question 3:
7) Part 1: How does the company deal with parental leave and how likely are women to
return to work after their time frame for maternity leave has expired?
a) Not very good. Honestly, they have a horrible attitude towards parental leave in
general. And it is usually not likely that women return after their time frame for
leave has expired.
8) Part 2: Do you think maternity leave for women is a factor for a lower wage or employee
turnover?
a) I’m not sure, but it is definitely a possibility.
9) Part 3: Is employee retention after maternity-leave higher when someone holds a higher
position?
a) Depends on the company, but usually yes. For our company women that hold
higher positions have all returned after maternity leave.
Question 4:
7) Part 1: Have employees ever been diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety?
a) Unfortunately, yes.
8) Part 2: Is it more common to see women being diagnosed with depression/anxiety than
men?
a) Yes, but women seek help more often than men, so the comparison data may be
off or incorrect.
9) Part 3: Do you think wage might be a factor to women being depressed or experiencing
anxiety?
a) In our industry, certainly. It is very unfortunate, but the tech industry does have
these wage flaws, and I feel that it affects women and their mental health.
Question 5:
7) Part 1: If you were to have a say on the salary of the employees at your job, would you
keep it the same as it is currently?
a) Yes, I believe our company wages are fair.
8) Part 2: Would women be making more, or would men? Or would you make sure the
salary was 100% equal?
a) 100% equal. That is the one change I would make if I had a say on salaries. If
there are gender wage gaps, I would fix it so wages are equal.
9) Part 3: If men were to still make more, what is your reasoning behind it?
a) N/a
Question 6:
7) Part 1: Do you think your company would have more talented employees if your pay
wage was equalized?
a) Definitely. Even though, compared to competitors, our company has pretty fair
wages between genders. However, being a tech company there may still be some
discrepancies. If those discrepancies were to be eliminated, we would have more
talented employees, just like any other company.
8) Part 2: Has anyone left your company due to unequal wages between men and women? If
yes, was there change made afterwards?
a) Not that I know of. If they have, I have not noticed changes. However, I doubt
anyone has left due to unequal wages.
9) Part 3: Does your company have a reputation when it comes to pay wage? Is it positive
or negative?
a) Yes, it is positive.
Question 7:
7) Part 1: Does your company have pay transparency? Meaning are they open about how
much they pay their employees?
a) No, my company does not have pay transparency,
8) Part 2: If not, do you think they do not have transparency because there is a wage gap
between employees?
 a) Yes, but honestly I believe it is more due to skill and position, rather than gender.
9) Part 3: If so, does the pay transparency bring in more applicants? Or does it not impact
potential and current employees?
a) N/a
Question 8:
7) Part 1: How competitive is it to get a job at your company?
a) Not very competitive.
8) Part 2: If it is very competitive, do you think it is because your company offers equal pay?
If not, why is it competitive?
a) N/a
9) Part 3: If it is not competitive, do you think unequal pay is part of that reason?
a) No, I believe our company is one of the more equal wage companies in this
industry.