How much are you worth? Wages, Salary, and Compensation

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All of us carry money baggage. We learn attitudes about money from our parents, neighbors, school… everywhere! Growing up in my family, I was told explicitly not to ask my parents about money and especially not about how much my father was paid. One simply did not talk about money.

And when I went to work, this was reinforced. No-one shared salary information.

Why not?

And yet, when I was working for the attorney in charge of providing salary information for a company as part of a legal filing, I saw the salary information for the entire company, including myself and everyone in my department.

It was shocking.

My colleague, one of the most impressive legal assistants I’ve ever known with the most years of company service, was the lowest paid. She also happened to be a woman of color. And I knew that she came to our department because in her previous role she was overlooked for promotion at least TWICE to people less qualified.

I’ve never felt the same about salary.

Inequity is baked into the system. Human Resource departments create structures to justify company wages with salary bands and any other manner of objective-sounding techniques to make executives feel okay that people of color, women, and other minorities are consistently paid less.

The numbers don’t lie.

So, when AFP president, Mike Geiger, announced that AFP would require job postings to provide salary information I was THRILLED! It is a welcome step toward shining a light on how companies pay all people. It automatically puts a floor on how low the offering salary can be.

And yet, recently in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Vincent Robinson, founder and managing partner of the 360 Group, an executive search company, wrote an op-ed that the #ShowTheSalary effort was misplaced. In the op-end he writes: “I’ve counseled numerous candidates who, when informed of the salary range for a position, ask whether they should even apply because the role paid substantially more than they currently earned, and they didn’t want to waste anyone’s time.” His primary argument is that too many “diverse candidates” place such a low value on their work that they would stop applying for jobs that paid too much.

I can’t help but be offended.

Yes, lots of people who are systematically oppressed and abused are paid painfully low salaries for important work. Plenty of them internalize a low self-worth. But preventing those who want, and are ready, for higher salaries from having the opportunity to see and know what the market value for their work actually is, feels particularly cruel.

How many generations need to repeat these painfully low salaries because salary amounts are withheld?

If you have ever learned that a colleague with comparable or fewer qualifications is paid quite a bit more than you, you probably experienced feelings of betrayal. Because it is betrayal. And if you cross the salary secrecy line and call it out to a supervisor, well, the reply might be “you really need to focus on more than the number” or “try to get yourself more exposure.” In other words, it’s your fault. You didn’t ask for more at the start and/or your money demands are culturally vulgar. If you have trouble paying your electricity bill, you have only yourself to blame.

I’m sure there are bosses out there who immediately apologize and demand you receive more pay, but I’m going to go with my gut on this and say it’s not a common reaction.

Salary secrecy firmly places the power in the hands of the employer, who deliberately withholds this information to its benefit. If withholding the information did not benefit the employer, it wouldn’t happen. But it does happen.

And it does benefit the employer, especially at the expense of those who are the most vulnerable and worst-placed to negotiate a higher salary–the diverse candidates.

I will stop preaching now.

I have been guilty of narrowing the candidate pool in a different way. In the past I have hired contractors and my sole employee through my close network. Mr. Robinson may be misguided on salary disclosure, but he is spot on in other respects, and it is time that I took some of his excellent advice:

  • “Don’t stop looking until your candidate pool is diverse.
  • Go beyond mainstream job posting platforms.”

As it happens, my firm, Aspire Research Group LLC, is hiring an executive assistant. I hope you’ll share the posting widely!

Executive Assistant Position: https://www.aspireresearchgroup.com/careers/

Additional Resources