What's the pay for this opportunity? 💰
What's the pay for this opportunity? 💰
Pay transparency is the first step towards equitable workplaces.
Have you been on Twitter or LinkedIn in the last few days?
If you haven't, let me catch you up.
On Saturday, a recruiter came online and shared how she lowballed a new addition to her company simply because the candidate asked for a specific number that was much, much lower than the role budget.
Now, on the surface, it may seem like a harmless and even a well-meaning tweet. The person is advocating that we all ask for more. That's great, no?
But when you look closer, you can spot the problem — sure, the recruiter had the power to increase the offer and didn't. She should have.
That's a different conversation, though. The crux of the matter is that this wouldn't have happened if there had been more transparency around the pay in the first place.
First, what's pay transparency?
If you've read my previous issues on money, you know that information about money (aka salaries, pay, rates, etc.) holds immense power. Yet, more often than not, people in power, companies, and sometimes whole, entire industries try to shroud money talks in darkness.
Think back to your last job search or your interviews with your current company. Did you know the salary of the role you were applying for beforehand? Probably not. Few companies have made it standard practice to share salary ranges in the job description.
No, it's more likely that they asked for your current/previous CTC (Cost To Company) or salary information in the application or the first interview. That's what happened to me. The last time I applied for a job (back during season one of the pandemic, in May 2020), I made it through an interview, and they wouldn't take my refusal to share my current pay.
I was reluctant to share my salary with them because I knew I was being very underpaid for my skills and experience. But they'd use that number to base my new salary and give me a meagre 30% rise (which amounts to almost nothing when you're already making peanuts).
Nowhere in this entire process did they return the offer — even when asked, they declined to share what I'd be paid if selected. "You can discuss that with HR when you get through the other two interviews."
Did you spot the problem?
I'd be spending nearly 10-15 hours preparing and sitting for all these interviews without a clue if this new job would continue to underpay me.
I withdrew my application after my interview because, along with the vague conversations about money, they also boasted a very shitty work-life balance (and were oddly proud of it, yuck).
Simply put, pay transparency is when a company shares what they'd be paying you for a particular role publicly. That's the keyword here — publicly. It's not enough to have shady water-cooler or boardroom discussions about money. The information about what you might get paid should be accessible to you if and when you want to apply for a particular role.
What’s the big deal with pay transparency anyway?
Information = knowledge.
We've already discussed why information around money is hugely beneficial in the long run. But to recap — when you're armed with the right pieces of info, you can make better, more well-informed choices that don't exploit you.
It addresses the gender pay gap
Women are paid lesser than men for the same work. This is even worse for Black women and women of colour, but we'll come to that in a second.
Pay transparency means that women know exactly what their male colleagues are making. Sure, the final salary might be slightly higher or lower, but the general range is mostly the same for people in the same team. There will be fewer cases of women being underpaid than the men who are lower than them on the hierarchy.
When salaries are public info, you can go and ask for what you're worth without hesitation. Women tend to ask just as often as men but don't get the same number of raises. With pay transparency, women can finally stop feeling like they're not equals on the same playground.
Marginalized folks can better advocate for themselves
Let's go back to that tweet that got me thinking deeper about all this. How would that candidate have known that 130k was the budget for a role like that? Who's gonna give her that information? Crowdsourced salary databases are helpful, but only to a certain extent.
As many people pointed out, the candidate probably thought she was negotiating and asking for her worth. She just didn't know that she was worth more. That boils down to lack of information again. She did her part; the recruiter and hiring manager (and the general company practice of not being transparent around pay) is what failed her.
The first step towards making it a fair game for everyone
Ever since I entered the job market, I've realized how many opportunities are shared behind closed doors. Referrals run the game. All of this makes sense — we all want someone trustworthy and reliable on our team and if someone we know can vouch for the newbie, isn't that great? Our connections share essential pieces of information.
In January alone, I was given pay info for three opportunities simply because I knew the people involved in the decision or asked them upfront about it. But when I looked at the public posting, none of those opportunities specified the pay. I was privy to that information simply because of my network.
But how do you make those connections? How do you build a network? What if you need a hand to get on the first rung of the ladder? Making salaries or salary ranges public gives people critical information to make choices and demand their worth. If you know you're worth more than the higher end of that band, you know where you stand with that company.
Black folks and people of colour are disproportionately paid compared to their white peers. So pay transparency can help them demand the right salaries and pick the right opportunity to move forward.
Whether it's a work-life balance or asking for a raise — the burden of every single thing that improves a worker's life is put on the worker. How is that fair?
The pandemic has brought along many changes, and over the last couple of years, I've seen more and more companies, cities, and countries improve with pay transparency. Of course, we're still a long way from equitable work, but at least we're stepping towards 'Equal Pay for Equal Work.'
Here is part two of my exploration into pay transparency. I cover the benefits for companies to be transparent and how some companies in the US tried to be shady and skirt around pay transparency laws.
It’s out!
Remember when I told you I was working on a ‘newsletters you need to check out’ article? Well, it’s finally ready!
So here are 22 newsletters you need to check out in 2022. Work culture, wellness, productivity, creativity, freelancing, and more. I’m sure there’s something for everyone.
Take five seconds to share what you thought? How did you like Part 1 of the Pay Transparency Problem?
Your anonymous feedback helps me improve, TIA!
Reader's Corner:
Here's what someone had to say after my last issue:
"your newsletters are one of the highlights of my week, so it's only fair that i share a tiny fact that might make you smile: cows have best friends! :)"
Thank you for that, anon, ily! 🐄
What's been on my mind this week? 🤔
I finally watched Don't Look Up. While I did get bored during some parts, I think it's a decent one-time watch. After that, I've rediscovered my interest in both space and dinosaurs. So here are two interesting videos that give you a minute by minute on what went down the day the dinosaurs died. Choose between an animated or a realistic recreation. ☄️
If you're a reader, then here's an article about the day we lost 75% of Earth's species, including those dinosaurs modern-day birds are descended from.
February 2020-21 — One in Quarantine™, through the eyes of a therapist. Comics and funny insights — a fun, quick read.
Somehow, it's already February, even though it feels like it was January 01 just yesterday. How's your 2022 going so far? If you're looking for 22 tiny mental health habits to make your year better, I've got you.
Here's a neat site that helps you create the perfect sound environment to focus better. You can mix and match soundscapes (raindrops, typing, paper, wind, etc.) and even share your creations with others so you can work together.
That’s all for this week — thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this edition, please give it a like below! 💜