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The subject of salary expectations is inevitably addressed in job interviews, and it often embarrasses applicants. And it's not always easy to negotiate a higher salary than your previous wage. In the United Kingdom, one company is pushing for greater transparency around pay scales.
The subject of salary expectations is inevitably addressed in job interviews, and it often embarrasses applicants. And it's not always easy to negotiate a higher salary than your previous wage. In the United Kingdom, one company is pushing for greater transparency around pay scales.
Salary transparency is the theme ofa new campaign helmed by Liberty Hive. The platform, which connects consultants and media businesses, launched its campaign on January 9 in an effort to change mindsets around pay inequality in the UK. Since 2018, companies with more than 250 employees have been legally required to disclose and explain income disparities within their organization each year. Among other things, the introduction of this law revealed substantial pay disparities between men and women, especially in finance.
But that's not enough for Kate Merritt and Laura Braithwaite, the founders of Liberty Hive. The two women are advocating for companies to be required to state salaries in their job postings, and to stop asking prospective candidates for their salary history. They argue that such measures would promote equality by addressing the pay gap.
Indeed, certain categories of workers have traditionally been underpaid, including women and minorities. Asking them about their salary history could unconsciously lead them to expect to be paid a similar salary to the one they have always had, even if it does not really reflect their skills and experience.
The specter of salary history
A 2021 survey by the UK's Fawcett Society reveals that 61% of women surveyed about their salary history find it detrimental to their confidence in the workplace. Some 58% even feel that a low past salary was "coming back to haunt them" when they broach the subject with a recruiter. "At best salary history questions are annoying," said Jemima Olchawski, Fawcett Society chief executive, when the survey results were published. "But it goes deeper than that -- asking about salary history can mean past pay discrimination follows women, people of color, and people with disabilities throughout their career. It also means new employers replicate pay gaps from other organizations."
That's why Liberty Hive has announced that it will no longer ask for salary history in job interviews and will encourage its business partners to be transparent about pay scales. The start-up is inviting other UK organizations to do the same. And for good reason, since the UK lags behind other countries when it comes to salary transparency.
Iceland has become a pioneer in the field by imposing equal pay from 2018. Since that date, companies with more than 25 employees and national administrations have been obliged to prove that men and women receive the same salary for the same position and skills. An independent organization is responsible for verifying that businesses meet these criteria and issues them with certification of compliance, which must be renewed every three years. Companies that fail to implement this policy are fined a maximum of 50,000 kroner (around $348) per day. In the United States, some 20 states have banned employers from asking job applicants about their previous earnings in the interest of fairness and equality. This is a way to give power back to employees, at a time when anxiety is rife in the labor market.
