Pay Equity Audit: Employee Perceptions & Trust Survey

Welcome to this survey on pay practices at our organization. We are gathering employee perspectives to help improve how we approach fairness and transparency in compensation. This survey takes approximately 6–8 minutes. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may stop at any time. All responses are confidential and will be reported only in aggregate—no individual answers will be attributed to you. There are no right or wrong answers; we are interested in your honest opinions and experiences. Please click 'Next' to begin.

As far as you are aware, has our organization conducted a pay equity audit?

• Yes, in the past 12 months
• Yes, more than 12 months ago
• No
• Not sure

The next questions ask about your perceptions of pay equity audits—processes organizations use to review whether employees are paid fairly regardless of gender, race, or other demographic factors.

Are you involved in setting pay or making compensation decisions?

• Yes, I make or approve pay decisions
• I provide input but do not decide
• No

We'd like to explore your perspective on pay equity audits in a bit more depth. An AI moderator will ask you a couple of brief follow-up questions.

Finally, a few questions about you. These are used only for aggregate analysis and will not be linked to your identity.

Thank you for completing this survey. Your responses are confidential and will be used in aggregate to improve how we approach pay equity at our organization. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact [HR/People Team contact].

Where did you most recently hear about a pay equity audit at our organization?

• Company-wide email
• My manager
• All-hands / town hall
• Company intranet
• Colleagues / word of mouth
• I haven't heard about one

How important is it for organizations like ours to conduct pay equity audits?

If you are involved in pay or compensation decisions: How feasible do you think it is for our organization to run effective pay equity audits given current resources and processes?

Based on your responses in this survey, what else—if anything—should our organization consider to make pay equity audits as fair and transparent as possible?

Which department or function do you primarily work in?

• Engineering
• Product
• Design
• Sales
• Marketing
• Customer Support
• Operations
• HR / People
• Finance
• Legal
• Other / Multiple
• Prefer not to say

How clear is the purpose of pay equity audits to you?

How confident are you that a pay equity audit at our organization would be conducted fairly?

Which of the following would most increase your confidence in pay equity audits at our organization? Select all that apply.

• Independent third-party involvement
• Clear audit criteria published in advance
• Aggregated results shared with employees
• De-identified examples of pay adjustments made
• Opportunities to ask questions (e.g., Q&A sessions)
• Regular cadence (e.g., annually)
• Strong privacy safeguards
• None of the above

What is your employment status?

• Full-time
• Part-time
• Contractor
• Intern
• Other
• Prefer not to say

How fair do you consider the criteria typically used in pay equity audits (e.g., job level, tenure, performance)?

How comfortable would you be with your compensation data being included in a pay equity audit?

• Yes, fully comfortable
• Yes, but only if my data is anonymized
• Unsure
• No, I would not be comfortable

What is your job level?

• Individual contributor
• People manager
• Director
• Executive
• Prefer not to say

How fair do you consider how the results of pay equity audits are typically communicated to employees?

How long have you been with the organization?

• Less than 6 months
• 6–12 months
• 1–2 years
• 3–5 years
• 6–10 years
• More than 10 years
• Prefer not to say

How fair do you consider the pay adjustments that can result from pay equity audits?

What is your primary work arrangement?

• On-site
• Hybrid
• Remote
• Prefer not to say