Is your employer transparent about the salaries of its employees? Do you prefer applying to jobs at companies that include salary ranges in their job postings? Have you ever been asked about your pay history at a job interview?
🎉 As of November 1, 2023, my home province of BC introduced salary transparency legislation. The Act requires employers to include salary ranges on all publicly advertised jobs. Employers are prohibited from requesting pay history information from prospective employees. The Act also requires employers to publicly post reports regarding their gender pay gap.
😖 The gender pay gap is persistent. According to Statistics Canada, in 2022, women in BC earned 17% less than men. Across Canada, the gap is even larger for women in STEM: ranging from 17% to 21%. In the US, technology remains one of the sectors with the biggest gender pay gap, currently standing at 16%.
To date, six Canadian provinces and 8 US states have adopted salary transparency laws 🙏🏽
How does salary transparency help women in tech?
✅ Visibility of pay disparities: transparency allows you to compare your salary with colleagues in similar roles. This can reveal any gender pay gaps that might exist within the organization, bringing attention to disparities that need to be addressed.
✅ Informed salary negotiation: women typically negotiate their salaries less frequently than men. Transparency empowers you to negotiate from an informed position, knowing the salary ranges for your role. This can contribute to closing the negotiation gap and ensuring fair compensation.
✅ Equal Pay for equal work: organizations are prompted to ensure that employees with similar qualifications and responsibilities receive equitable compensation.
✅ Challenging unconscious bias: transparent salary structures can help identify and challenge unconscious biases that may contribute to gender gaps. When the data is visible, it becomes easier to address and rectify any biases that may be influencing salary decisions.
✅ Retention and morale: transparency fosters a culture of trust within an organization. When women feel that they are being fairly compensated, it can lead to increased job satisfaction, higher morale, and improved retention rates.
✅ Organizational accountability: organizations are more accountable for their compensation decisions. Employers are motivated to ensure that their salary structures are fair and in compliance with regulations, including those aimed at addressing gender pay gaps.
✅ Setting industry standards: when transparency becomes the norm in one organization or industry, it can set a precedent for others to follow. This can contribute to broader industry changes and norms, ultimately benefiting women in tech across various workplaces.
Mandating salary transparency in every state and province is vital to help close the gender pay gap and to accelerate equality in the tech industry.
How transparent is your company?
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Lots of love,
-Anna
