The NYC Pay Transparency Laws Are Making It Clear Who Pays Lip Service to Equity

Companies that purport to back equity and inclusion are refusing to comply with pay transparency laws.

New York City’s Pay Transparency Law went into effect on November 1, and most reporting on the requirement in the days following has been about big companies refusing to comply, posting pay ranges of $100,000 or more.

Reporter Victoria M. Walker posted on her Twitter feed the salary ranges for specific jobs (here’s the thread). For example, the posting for head of audio news at The Wall Street Journal lists the salary range as $150,000–$450,000. 

Laura Hazard Owen created a list of media companies that are and are not complying for Nieman Journalism Lab. Overall, media companies have done well, but some, like the New York Post, are “technically complying, but ranges are dubious.” The pay range for the paper's SEO manager role is listed as $50,000–$145,000.

The goal of the pay transparency law is to make compensation more equitable and prevent employers from discriminating against employees for the things employers usually discriminate against, like race, gender, disability, and parental status. And there is evidence that pay transparency reduces the pay gap.

What we’re learning from this tacit fit pitching is who isn’t being honest about their commitment to equity and inclusion. 

Amazon Web Services

Location-based pay perpetuates income inequality. This is why employers should compensate based on a worker’s skills and potential, not their hometown. 

This posting for a senior technical writer at Amazon Web Services reads: 

“Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $125,800/year in our lowest geographical market, up to $211,300/year in our highest geographical market.”

From the AWS careers site: 

“We’ve made inclusive hiring training a standard for our recruiters and hiring managers, and the AWS Inclusion Ambassadors program has more than 7,000 ambassadors promoting and fostering a culture of inclusion.”

Deloitte

Deloitte posted a job for a senior tax accountant and listed a salary range of $86,800–$161,200. 

As part of its DEI strategy, Deloitte says it values transparency. It says this about its series of profiles on Black employees, called “Uncensored”:

“As our organization works to foster transparency, facilitate deeper conversations, and drive action toward creating a more equitable community, we’ve launched the Uncensored series as an important component of that mission.”

PwC

The pay range for a senior solution architect is $163,000–$410,000.

From their DEI page: 

“We know that the future success of our firm is contingent on equitable experiences for our people. From recruitment to partnership, we’re working hard to give every person an equitable opportunity to grow and to thrive as part of our community of solvers. We understand that establishing and maintaining a fair, equitable and welcoming environment for all people requires building a culture of belonging: a shift from awareness to empathy — while demonstrating inclusive leadership that cultivates trust among our people and our clients.”

Wunderman Thompson

Senior strategist at ad agency Wunderman Thompson is listed as $70,000–$140,000. 

On the company’s careers page:

“We are committed to actively building a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcomed, valued, heard, and is treated with dignity and respect. As leaders and creative partners across industries, it is our responsibility to cultivate an environment reflective of our greatest asset - our people. We believe that this commitment inspires growth and delivers equitable outcomes for everyone as well as the clients and communities we serve.”

Refusal to comply with the requirement says a great deal about a company’s contempt for pay equity. Those who pay lip service are admitting it in their job postings.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza writes about workplace culture, DEI, and hiring. Her work has appeared in Fast Company, From Day One, and InHerSight, among others.

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