You Make How Much?

A young professional I know recently applied for a job with these words in the posting:

“The position is available to applicants in Canada and the United States, except for applicants residing in: Washington (state), Colorado, California, Jersey City, NJ.”

I love our neighbors to the north. But, isn’t it odd that they are preferred over Jersey City residents? I’ve not been to Jersey City, so perhaps it makes sense. But the reason is that Canada and everywhere in the US not listed don’t have pay transparency laws. (See ADPs overview at this link.)

The laws try to address hiring biases and salary inequities. According to Payscale, the ‘controlled’ gender pay gap is $0.99 to $1.00; the ‘uncontrolled is $0.83 to $1.00. 

Data from the US Department Labor show that African-American/Blacks make $0.76, Hispanic/LatinX make $0.73, and Indigenous/Native Americans make $0.77, for every dollar that White Americans make. Although dated, a 2015 study by the Economic Policy Insitute lays out the systemic nature of uncontrolled gaps. Biases in K-12 and college education, hiring practices, day care availability, and lingering societal gender roles all contribute.

Pay transparency can’t solve all of these issues. Yet, for certain, it is a meaningful lever that corporate and non-profit actors can pull. (Listen to S9:E9 of Mission Forward.)

But, keep in mind, as Garry Straker at Salary.com suggests, “pay transparency requires nothing less than a cultural transformation” (check out the great article on SHRM here.) My organization is in Colorado. Speaking from experience, you are 100% spot on Garry. The transition to be compliant with the Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act was fraught with difficulties. We rewrote job descriptions, changed many titles, established industry comparators, and set pay ranges for positions. And, 100%, our culture transformed…for the better! 

As Zubin Davar states on AS UNEXPECTED E2, every leader - no matter where the HQ is located - should lean into pay transparency. For those of you in states without the legal necessity to do so, do it anyway. Start now. You will have the opportunity to meet your non-discrimination work before the job is posted. 

Also, stop offering remote positions only to applicant’s not in the states with these laws. I doubt doing so aligns with your stated values. You will find the talent you want and need. And, while the systemic challenges remain, you will be part of the solution to the seemingly intractable challenge of the ongoing pay discrepancies.

Finally, please take a minute to read about the AS UNEXPECTED leadership model (here), consider listening to previous AS UNEXPECTED podcasts (here) and subscribe to the AS UNEXPECTED newsletter on the website (here).