The first thing employment litigator Jeanne Christensen does when considering whether to represent a potential client in a pay inequity lawsuit is look at photos of the company's management.

All too often, Christensen said, every single member of management is a white male.

"It's shocking," the Wigdor partner said Tuesday during a panel discussion on gender and racial pay equity as part of Legalweek's Legal Business Strategy program. She said diversifying leadership is the most meaningful change a company can make toward eliminating gender and racial inequity.

"That will move the needle," she said.

Companies can take other steps to increase parity, other lawyers on the panel suggested. The panel was moderated by Lisa Helem, editor-in-chief of the National Law Journal.

Tracey Salmon-Smith, a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath in New York, said she asks clients to conduct an equal-pay audit—which can be privileged if lawyers oversee the work—and to train employees to be wary of bias.

Salmon-Smith said the audit results should be shared with management and the company's board to determine how to address pay inequity if it is found. Generally, the company needs to find a way to level the field by increasing salaries.

Salary reviews shouldn't be a "one and done" and should be looked at annually, said Jeanine Conley, a partner at Littler Mendelson in Greenville, South Carolina.

Alexandra Harwin, a partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp in New York and co-chair of the firm's Title VII practice, said it's extremely common for companies to make pay decisions privately, which can lead to inequality. Because of the secrecy, employees don't know they are being discriminated against.

Harwin's firm represents former female Jones Day associates who have sued the Am Law 50 firm in a gender discrimination lawsuit that alleges they are not allowed to discuss their compensation because of a black box compensation structure. The firm has asked that all of the plaintiffs' claims of disparate pay be dismissed.

Companies that make compensation decisions in secret cannot be held accountable when they are unfair, Harwin contends.

And all too often, Harwin said, companies make "wrong decisions" when employees bring pay concerns to management.

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