PR Nightmare

This year for the first time, CEOs have to report the pay ratio of their salaries by comparison to that of the median worker’s income in their companies. It is shaping up to be a PR nightmare. For one, the media will widely report the numbers. Secondly, although the ratio is squishy and hardly factual, it will provoke protests from unions and some investors. There is little doubt that executive compensation is out of control, although it has moderated somewhat in recent years. The ratio will do little to compress the distance between CEOs and their employees, but it will be a source of embarrassment. Maybe that, if nothing else, will help to narrow the gap. PR practitioners should expect to defend the ratios in the coming proxy season. It might be difficult to do.