8.2.7
Tracking pay scale for gender equity
The document PPSM 15: Pengurusan Prestasi is the official performance management framework for all Malaysian public services. As a public university, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) is mandated to implement this exact system for its entire academic and non-academic staff. This means the performance ratings, feedback mechanisms, and documentation processes described in the guide are institutionalized within UniMAP's HR practices. The PPSM 15 system is critical for pay equity because it replaces subjective judgment with a standardized, documented, and transparent process. This is the primary mechanism to ensure that pay decisions (especially promotions and increments linked to performance) are free from gender bias.
Here’s how the components of PPSM 15, as implied in a performance management guide, facilitate this:
- Standardized Performance Goals & Competencies
All staff in the same grade are evaluated against the same predefined objectives and behavioral competencies. This removes the possibility of holding individuals to different, subjective standards based on gender.
- Regular Documentation & Feedback
This transparency makes it difficult for biased assessments to go unnoticed or unchallenged.
- Calibration and Review
This process is designed to identify and correct inconsistent or potentially biased ratings across different departments before they are finalized.
- Performance Rating as Basis for Reward
Since promotion to a higher grade is the primary driver of long-term pay increases, ensuring the promotion process is merit-based is key to closing the gender pay gap.
It provides the objective data (performance ratings) that determine an employee's progression up the pay scale. If the system is applied faithfully, two individuals with the same performance level will receive the same rewards and progression opportunities, regardless of gender. This prevents scenarios where women are unfairly passed over for promotions or pay raises due to unconscious bias.
