Recently, there has been a push by some major digital-based companies towards salary transparency. The current thinking―one that is very much based on the ethos of Internet that the more we know, the better―is that open books will result in an even the playing field.
In the male-dominated world of tech, where women notoriously have a more difficult time getting funding, an even playing field is in the interests of many. To that end, Pinterest recently announced that it was conducting a pay audit of all its employees, and the real estate start-up Redfin went so far as to publish it’s salaries. Women are notoriously not as good at negotiating for themselves as men, and there is some belief that a lack of salary transparency can further hinder their efforts.
At first glance, this may sound like a simple and obvious fix: If you can see how much your co-workers are making, you can demand a comparable amount. But, as with all fundamental shifts it comes with it’s own set of complications.
