Auburn Hills, Michigan -- USA   February 10, 2014

Dear Global Thought Leaders,

Remember the uproar last week about Mary Barra, GM's new CEO and first woman to run a major automaker, being paid less($4.4M; $1.6M base pay) than her predecessaory CEO, Dan Akerson($9M, base pay $1.7M)? After several days of very negative media coverage,  GM played catch-up today, announcing that Barra's actual compensation in her first year as CEO will be $14.4 million.

Now that's more like it...and puts her right in the ballpark with what her male peers running global auto companies are earning.

I was never worried about whether or not Mary Barra would be paid enough.  After all, a woman who has just been named #1 on Fortune Magazine's list of "Most Powerful Women in Business" should be able to negotiate her own salary.

The mistake that GM made wasn't in determining the pay of the first woman to run a major auto company. It was in how to begin to introduce their new CEO, who has just stepped into the glare of the global business and media spotlight. In assuming that the media would patiently wait until the spring to hear the "full story" of her compensation, GM was tone deaf to the growing drumbeat of attention to the gender pay gap, putting them on thin ice right out of the gate. 

But when Barra accepted the White House's invitation to be a VIP guest at the State of the Union address and mentioned by the President in his message about the need for equal pay and opportunity for women, suddenly they had a perception problem on their hands.

I'm rooting for Mary Barra to be wildly successful. So I'm glad that GM decided not to wait for the Annual Meeting to clear up confusion over Barra's total compensation. But most of all, I'm glad that the media is beginning to pay attention to pay equity.  Because there are millions of working women in this country who are NOT BEING PAID equally with men for comparable work.

There's an iceberg of pay inequity deeply ingrained in our culture that is hurting millions of women and their families. That's not an accident, or a pr mistake; it's policy. I hope Mary Barra will make sure other women at GM are paid as equitably as she is.

 Another snowstorm on the way toward Michigan!  

Anne