Finally pay equality?
During my annual review last week, my boss admitted that two senior managers, including myself, have been paid less for years than our colleagues with similar experience and background. I have been with the company for 12 years, initially as a junior manager and working my way up to a senior role over most of the last nine years.
I feel upset knowing that despite my hard work and consistently good reviews, I have been underpaid for so long.
My former boss, who switched roles with my current boss and is now our vice president, is probably responsible for this, but my new boss still consults closely with him before making decisions. While my current boss has said he plans to increase my salary to help close the gap, he has not committed to fully bringing it in line with others or addressing years of inequality.
I'm not sure what my options are at this point. I don't want to seem too demanding, but it's hard not to feel like I've been too accommodating. If they admit to underpaying me so casually, they still seem to view me as accommodating and low risk to them. Which really makes me angry.
– Anonymously
You haven't been too compliant all these years because you didn't know you were being unpaid. Let's get that out of the way first, because it feels to me like part of you is blaming yourself for… what? The fact is that nothing from the past was your fault or within your control; it seems like the blame lies with your former boss for 1) not rewarding the quality of your work and 2) not bringing your salary in line with what other people at your level were making and still making.
I'm curious how your current boss informed you that you are underpaid. Was it a slip of the tongue? A confession? Was it said apologetically? With shame or regret? I imagine that if your current boss reveals this information to you in an apologetic manner, it might indicate a willingness on his part to make things right.
On the subject of setting the record straight: I am concerned about the unwillingness – or unwillingness – to fully align your salary with that of your comparable professional colleagues. Have you asked your current boss why he won't make things right at this point? Have you explicitly asked him whether he wants to tackle inequality in a way that involves back payments?
As for your options, you have every right to appear demanding or at least persistent and assertive in this area. They've been paying you too little for years. Years! I'd be angry too (I'm already angry on your behalf). And don't think for a second that I haven't noticed that both your former and current bosses are male, and that, based on the name on your email, you are female. Women still earn less than men – 84 percent of what men earn, not to mention race and ethnicity – and they suffer from the societal assumption that they will be compliant, thanks to the way we are socialized as girls. (I'm even writing a book about this.)
I'm curious: What did you say in response to your current boss when he told you you were underpaid? Have you taken notes? Then or after? Have you spoken to the other underpaid senior manager you work with? What did he or she say? (I'd also really like to know if that person is a man or a woman.) (Some states are in the process of enacting salary transparency laws. Is that yours?) And again, have you asked your boss directly to set the record straight to put?
I think you should find an employment lawyer and have an introductory meeting with him or her. And depending on what your employer or boss says, you may want to consider looking for another job. Wage differences may widen over the years; What may seem like a small difference in annual salary adds up to much more over the decades, as you just experienced firsthand. Will your sense of being passed over, taken for granted, and disrespected decrease if your salary is brought in line with, or close to, that of others? You're still trying to figure that out. But what you may discover is that “accommodation” means accommodating yourself and honoring your sense of self-respect. And that you can better use your talents elsewhere.
