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The average global relative purchasing power is already reflected in the currency exchange rates. But generally there is no such thing as a "single" purchasing

The average global relative purchasing power is already reflected in the currency exchange rates. But generally there is no such thing as a "single" purchasing power. Some local goods may be cheaper in developing countries, but some others can be more expensive. If you don't know exactly what an employee is spending their money on, you can't really tell the purchasing power of their money. A big family with more kids may spend more money on local goods, transportation and housing, but a single person may want to just save-up 80% of their salary for a new Tesla, which costs just the same everywhere. Therefore adjusting the payouts to the local prices level will always be unfair to someone. If one could get a Tesla at a 70% discount just because they live in a developing country, then the story would be different. But they can't.

Cthulhu_ 7y ago
Currencies are too broad though; as has been stated, cost of living in SF is a multiple of that elsewhere, and that's just in the EU. It's similar in the Netherlands (where Gitlab is from), where living in the urban western cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, Utrecht) is unaffordable for the vast majority of people, but that's where all the tech companies decide to settle because that's also where a lot of the tech people have moved to. Somehow. The fact that a lot of people live in run-down overpriced housing or shared student living spaces seems to be ignored there. I for one would love to be encouraged to move further out to the countryside. That's the long-term plan anyway.