"your boss should be able to tell you exactly why you're paid less." 'Why' is a qualitative measurement. You will never agree. The debate will never end. It w

"your boss should be able to tell you exactly why you're paid less." 'Why' is a qualitative measurement. You will never agree. The debate will never end. It will always be well be, "he did X, I did Y, I think Y is more important, so I think I should be paid more" times a thousands of employees. Believe me grades are a public salary microcosm. I worked at a company for 4 years that added grades to titles in the middle of my stay. It was a disaster. People were never happy, always jealous, constantly asking their boss 'what they need to do' to achieve a subjective thing. I think you're right it would lead to more equal pay because that would be the only way to avoid the drama. It does put the company at a competitive disadvantage now because - Your competitors know how much all your positions make, while they don't have to make theirs public Hiring a dev at a discount is impossible because they will complain Hiring a dev at a premium is impossible because current employees will complain Holding on to talent is harder because if they leave for a better offer - you cant match their pay because everyone else will complain Really the only way this isn't a problem is if you're underpaid - like you are. And like I said there are many services out there that will give you a good idea of range you should be paid.