Closing the wage gap — 3 steps employees can take
A few jobs ago, I was at an annual performance review meeting with my manager. I had worked with other managers at the same company before, but it was my first review cycle with this manager. He handed me the feedback notes with a 10% salary increment notice and told me- “I was shocked to see how low your salary was compared to your peers. I did the best I could”.
Six months later I received another 10% salary increment as adjustment.
Step 1: If you’re in a position of power at your workplace, you have what it takes to close the wage gap. So does the person above you and the people above them. It can only take ONE person to do the right thing — as long as they want to do it. Find out if your team is being paid equally and close the wage gap when you see it.
If you’re not in a position of power, you can still question the wage gap at your workplace. Be curious, ask your manager & HR - “How can I trust that I’m being paid equally for an equal role?”
The following year I was at the annual performance review again with the same manager. One of my peers, who had the same level of experience as me at the company, had just been promoted. So I curiously asked my manager about how it could have been me. His response was- “He got promoted because he asked for it”.
Step 2: As an employee, you have to learn to speak up for yourself and express what you want. Since sometimes all you need to do is “ask” for a promotion to get one.
Over the years, I’ve learnt to do the awkward thing of asking my close network about how much they are or were earning in their role and disclosing my own salary in the conversation. This is a diverse group of past coworkers including managers where salary discussions have no judgements attached. From these disclosures, I’ve found many who earned more than me in an equal role- without even negotiating for it! This has given me the vision to know what is possible and the courage to ask for more.
Do the awkward thing of discussing salaries, research the pay range for your role in your area, speak up for your skills and ask for what you deserve- “Equal pay for an equal role. A promotion for all your hard work. An equal partnership at your home to support your career goals.”
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One of my job opportunities came with a 35% salary pay cut, in exchange for startup stocks. I was not comfortable with taking such a huge pay cut. Since it had taken years to reach my salary at the time. But the role really aligned with what I wanted to do. So I took a calculated risk and accepted the offer.
Taking this job was one of the best decisions I made for my career at that time as it exposed me to the skills growth trajectory that I wanted. Unfortunately, the company’s growth plans did not pan out as expected after a year. I was now forced to be at the job market again with a below market previous salary. This is where the law helped me. California’s Labor Code section 432.3 law prohibits employers from asking about an applicant’s salary history. I received a total of 3 job offers during that search period. All 3 paid more than the pay-cut I took and no one asked how much I was making earlier.
Without overlooking salary history, if anyone is underpaid in their first job, they’d always be underpaid. Every cent counts as over the years the wage gap widens with fixed increments on previous salary.
Step 3: As an employer, do not base the candidate’s compensation on the salary history. Instead, tell them what you can offer based on the skills necessary for the role and discuss how much they want to earn in their “next” role.
As an applicant, ask how much the role offers, research what similar roles pay and discuss how much you want to earn rather than what you made.
Because anything less than equal is not equal. It’s time we close the wage gap. Let’s close the wage gap!
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