MANDATING COMPANIES TO PUT SALARIES ON JOB ADVERTS...WILL IT ADDRESS PAY INEQUALITY?
Watch on YouTubeVideo summary
New York City has introduced a new mandate requiring companies to list both minimum and maximum salaries on job advertisements, aiming to address long-standing pay inequality. This policy stands in stark contrast to practices in the United Kingdom, where employers are legally permitted to ask candidates about their current earnings, often creating pressure for disclosure that does not exist across the Atlantic. The shift reflects a growing belief among many workers that transparency is essential for leveling the playing field, ensuring that individuals receive fair compensation regardless of gender or immigration status, which have historically been factors in wage disparities.
The initiative has sparked significant debate regarding its potential effectiveness and unintended consequences. On one hand, proponents argue that revealing salary ranges prevents candidates from being underpaid simply because they lack negotiation skills or come from different backgrounds with less local experience. However, critics worry that this transparency might disadvantage larger companies capable of offering higher wages by allowing them to poach top talent more easily than smaller firms can compete against fixed pay scales. Additionally, there is skepticism about whether listing a range will truly eliminate the need for negotiation, as employers could still offer amounts at the lower end or attempt to negotiate upwards from the stated maximum without violating new rules.
Ultimately, while some fear this approach moves hiring toward a rigid "one size fits all" model that stifles flexibility, others remain optimistic about its ability to foster fairness in the recruitment process. The discussion highlights a complex tension between protecting workers who might otherwise accept low offers and maintaining an open market where negotiation is considered part of securing employment. As New York City implements this change, observers will be watching closely to see if it successfully closes wage gaps or merely shifts the dynamics of salary negotiations without solving deeper structural inequalities in how jobs are valued and compensated across different industries and demographics.
Read the full video transcript
i thought this was really interesting
and this
this piece of news uh was around
christmas new year
so in case you missed it new york city
uh will make it mandatory for companies
to disclose minimum and maximum salaries
on job adverts
it's illegal to ask candidates what
they're currently earning
which is interesting because in contrast
in the uk for example
uh you can ask and it's a bit odd if the
candidate doesn't disclose that's the
kind of vibe and feeling in the uk u.s
is really different been really
interesting to to recruit in the us and
these states and not asking people um
pros and cons to it i think let's go
into it
the disclosing the salary i think is
also interesting and i did a poll on
linkedin
and i asked mandating companies to
disclose challenge on the job adverts
brilliant idea 83 percent of people
no way 14 and
some people said other please comment
two percent uh i had 568 votes a decent
decent number of people voted it's a
nice cross section i think it's i think
it's super fascinating and
and there's two sides to this and and a
bunch of things in the middle clearly
but but praise to this um you know
people feel that it will
you know be fairer it will level the
playing field does it really matter what
you're earning now well you could be
earning 50 000 you could be earning 200
000 but this role pays a hundred
thousand uh or let's say eighty thousand
to a hundred thousand if we're doing
minimum at max would you like to apply
that's it
and and it's interesting because a lot
of people
um for a bunch of different reasons
sometimes are underpaid you know there's
the gender pay gap people talk about and
there's often people that have come into
the country from a different place uh
with different experience they often
paid a bit less
you know there's all of these kinds of
conversations happening
and people feel that it's fairer you
know people should be paid the same for
the same job
great point and whether this makes that
happen
let's see but i think it's it's a
certainly an interesting step forward
and it'll be really interesting to see
on the other side of the coin um
you know people say look negotiation's
part and parcel
um you know people need to learn to
negotiate better
people fear that some of the larger
companies who can perhaps afford to pay
more might end up getting better talent
um
and
yeah people aren't sure
on this side of the conversation
whether or not it will really have
the impact that they're hoping for
and you know
speaking cynically
there's still going to be some
you know negotiation and what happens if
someone comes in and they're like okay
look you said you pay 100 but
actually i want 120 i want 150 or
i think that's still room for
negotiation i think it's it's really
interesting but then we're moving a
little bit towards this you know one
size fits all and i think you have to be
careful so
let's see where it lands uh i think i'm
i'm positive i think it's going to be
really interesting i think
uh it will
probably be fairer and it'll be
interesting to see how that all develops