SF to prohibit employers from asking for salary history to close gender wage gap

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sf-prohibit-employers-asking-salary-history-close-gender-wage-gap/

by uptown • 9 years ago

26 21 9 years ago

qstyk• 9 years ago

I don't have a problem with them asking. I politely decline to tell them and move on. I have yet to have it be a stumbling block. An employer asking is a fairly standard practice, as is a potential employee not providing that information.

sjg0072• 9 years ago

Some companies ask for your previous W2 as proof.

onetwotree2• 9 years ago

So refuse it. Tax documents are private.

true_tuna• 9 years ago

I've had an employer refuse to proceed with an offer unless I provide salary history.

dethswatch• 9 years ago

"Thank you for for self-identifying. Good day."

That would have been my response.

salehk• 9 years ago

how does this close the gender wage gap?

onetwotree2• 9 years ago

1 ) Banning past salary inquiries allows more rapid increases in salary, thus accelerating a trend induced by other factors of a shrinking gender gap. This is also why you should always refuse to reveal your past salary.

2 ) Assertive behavior like refusing to reveal past salary is viewed (consciously or unconsciously) as a positive trait in men and a negative one in women. This puts women at a disadvantage during salary negotiations generally, and specifically when asked to provide information that will prevent them from entering a position with a higher salary.

gozur88• 9 years ago

We'll see if that's the actual effect in practice. Young professional women make more money than their male counterparts. If they're not as good at negotiating as their male counterparts, this may negate their only advantage.

Aron2• 9 years ago

I keep wondering these days who is left to stand up for good old fashion capitalism and liberty

lovich2• 9 years ago

What part of a negotiation where one side has all the data and the other side has next to none is considered part of "good old fashion capitalism"?

If a company wants my salary data I'll be happy be to provide it as soon as they provide me their accounting books. I wouldn't want to ask for too low a salary if I knew they could afford more

iopq• 9 years ago

I just refuse to give my data until they tell me what they have budgeted for the position so we are on equal grounds.

Schwolop• 9 years ago

Can't you just lie about it? How are they going to check? And if they do ask for evidence can't you simply walk away from the opportunity?

That said, a better way to defuse the question without lying is to say something like "My former employers consider salary data confidential as I'm sure you do too, but my expected salary for this role is [true_target * math.randrange(1.1, 1.4)]."

yuhong• 9 years ago

A law prohibiting employers from asking questions is much easier to enforce than anti-discrimination laws. I would still be willing to compromise by limiting anti-discrimination laws to manual labor jobs though.

namlem• 9 years ago

Good. It's none of their business.

SF to prohibit employers from asking for salary history to close gender wage gap

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