Microsoft Corp. and CVS Health Corp. are among a handful of companies that have pledged under investor pressure to explain how their chief executive officer’s pay factors in pay for the rest of the workforce.
Companies must report pay ratios under a rule written in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis that took effect this past year. CEOs of S&P 500 companies have reported making about 280 times more than their typical workers on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The ratios were expected to cause a stir among media, investors, and workers, especially those paid less than the reported rank-and-file figure. But those concerns were largely overblown, with income inequality overshadowed by a focus on other gender-based pay gaps and the #MeToo movement.
“This wasn’t as big of a deal or exercise as people thought it would be,” said Deb Lifshey, a managing director at executive compensation consultant Pearl Meyer.