3 ms·

#4 is super important for many things, not just gender equity. One of the biggest ones is to make sure that you actually clearly communicate what you want out

by codemac 11y ago

#4 is super important for many things, not just gender equity. One of the biggest ones is to make sure that you actually clearly communicate what you want out of an employee. If you expect someone to be doing more work than someone else, but they have the same title.. you may want different titles. Or clear (and public!) pay grades that signify seniority if you don't want MTS1 MTS2 MTS3 MTS4 MTS5 MTS++ style titles. Companies, especially small ones, that skirt performance review policies as either unimportant or "too formal" can lead to a lot of incidental/accidental discrimination that goes unnoticed until it's too late.

meric 11y ago
We had expanded to a new country and decided to open an office there. Since we didn't know the market rates for developers over there the founder proposed to pay whatever people ask for plus 10%. We ended up hiring a light skinned person and a dark skinned person. The latter was more experienced and skilled than the former and had asked for 40% less salary. I only found out after we had hired them and spent a lot of goodwill convincing the founder to increase his salary to the same level. It was crazy we were going to pay one person more for less skills because the color of his skin made him have higher salary expectations! There was also the other issue of him acting as if he knew more than everyone when he didn't but I'm digressing...
- zo1 11y ago
  >"It was crazy we were going to pay one person more for less skills because the color of his skin made him have higher salary expectations!" Let's not bring race into this. Not unless said employee was making comments/opinions such as "I'm white, therefore I deserve more" or "I expect more because I'm white". At the very least, you would have no idea to the motives behind his higher expectations (or the other person's lower expectations).
  - meric 11y ago
    Yes, let's make it clear it isn't a first order effect but likely a third or fourth order effect. E.g. They grew up in different areas of the country, one part having higher living standard expectations, and if you get to the bottom of it, it had to do with race at some point decades ago.

by codemac 11y ago

meric 11y ago

We had expanded to a new country and decided to open an office there. Since we didn't know the market rates for developers over there the founder proposed to pay whatever people ask for plus 10%. We ended up hiring a light skinned person and a dark skinned person. The latter was more experienced and skilled than the former and had asked for 40% less salary. I only found out after we had hired them and spent a lot of goodwill convincing the founder to increase his salary to the same level. It was crazy we were going to pay one person more for less skills because the color of his skin made him have higher salary expectations! There was also the other issue of him acting as if he knew more than everyone when he didn't but I'm digressing...

zo1 11y ago
>"It was crazy we were going to pay one person more for less skills because the color of his skin made him have higher salary expectations!" Let's not bring race into this. Not unless said employee was making comments/opinions such as "I'm white, therefore I deserve more" or "I expect more because I'm white". At the very least, you would have no idea to the motives behind his higher expectations (or the other person's lower expectations).
- meric 11y ago
  Yes, let's make it clear it isn't a first order effect but likely a third or fourth order effect. E.g. They grew up in different areas of the country, one part having higher living standard expectations, and if you get to the bottom of it, it had to do with race at some point decades ago.