Male co-worker in same position, pay equity conversations

Question

I am on a team where I’m in the exact same role as a male coworker. We were hired at the same time and our roles are exactly the same. He has more experience in the field (he’s much older) but I have more relevant education and a broader skillset. In the past year, my performance at the same job has been drastically better: I’ve been doing really well and he has struggled to keep up with our bosses’ expectations. My output is probably 40-60% higher and having a big impact. I’ve gotten a performance raise. In contrast, our boss asked me to help identify what factors could be affecting this coworker’s performance so he can help him keep up. I think that if I knew how much my coworker was making, and if it was more than me, I could definitely leverage that to get higher pay. For all I know, I could already be making more than him, I really have no idea. My company says they are evaluating pay equity in general, but I haven’t heard any updates or what that looks like. Does anyone have any advice? I am nervous about asking my coworker directly, because it may be awkward if I make more than him. However, if he’s making more than me based on hiring negotiations, I really think my company should at least bring me up to that level... I’ve thought about chatting with my boss about the company’s pay equity evaluations, in general, from a standpoint of curiosity. It’s a passive path, but I could lay the groundwork and/or give my boss the an opportunity to explain what’s happening with that. Thoughts? Has anyone been in a similar pickle?

Alyssa Beyer · Answer

Not discussing salaries is a load of BS and is just a way for employers to maintain the status quo and line their own pockets. If permanent employees get mad at the temps for making more, they’re mad at the wrong people.  I discussed my salary with my leads at one of my jobs, we discovered that they made around $1.50 less than me and they were managers. It didn’t cause conflict between us; we knew who was truly to blame.

Anonymous · Answer

I once had a position where I had the highest salary on the team because I negotiated it in the interview stage.  Most of my coworkers were men.  The situation can vary.

Anonymous · Answer

I agree with all of Alyssa Beyer's points, and am a little concerned by the 'don't worry about what others make' responses. If you don't know the pay structure of the organization, you don't know if you're being paid equitably. And fyi, at least in New York, colleagues are allowed to discuss salaries, so anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong at best, deceptive at worst. We need more pay transparency, or we're never going to get equal pay.

To the original poster: I was in a very similar situation. Different roles/depts., but the same level of role. His was purely admin and he had zero experience before starting a year after me. My role is highly specialized and I came in with 6 years experience. He was making 10% more than me. (The way I found out his salary was through a colleague in his dept, but to be fair, he did disclose it to me, unprompted, later on.) Here's what I did (which was the the beginning of what turned into years' long advocacy for me to get paid/promoted to what I was worth):

I went to my direct supervisor, who I had a great relationship with, and flat-out told him a male colleague at the same level was making more than me, and had been for 1.5 years, and that I wanted a salary review (I'd suggest you ask for one since you clearly are doing more than your current role requires and are excelling). Because I work for a huge company, this had to then go to our VP, and then on to HR. I never talked to anyone other than my supervisor during this period - he was the one to advocate for me. (If you do not trust your boss to advocate strongly for you in a process like this,  I recommend inserting yourself and asking for a meeting/put your request in writing with HR so that they hear from you directly.) It took 5 months, but I got the 10%. A year later I then began the process for promotion, which is a whole other journey...

Again, I suggest you ask for a salary review and that your request includes the percentage increase you think you deserve (go high!), so that they don't continue to lowball you just because they can. Good luck!!

Anonymous for a day · Answer

I would never ask a coworker how much they’re getting paid. It’s tacky and nothing good can come from it because chances are one of you is making more. Instead do salary research on your position title. Salary.com can give you a fair assessment of what you should be getting paid. Take that information to your boss when asking for a raise. Going to him or her and saying I found out he’s making more than me so I want to be compensated accordingly will probably not go well for you.

Sarah Stadtherr · Answer

I went back to read the original post and all the comments.  There are two different things being addressed.  1) how your coworker can be helped and 2) comparable wages.

1) You can always gently be of assistance by saying 'He needs to understand how to use the software we have to his advantage.  It was easy for me but maybe it isn't for him.'  or 'I seem to relate a little better with the customers than he does.  Maybe he could use some help with that by attending a class.'

The wages thing is NOT your problem nor should it be discussed.  The HR people and the Supervisory folks know whether one of you is being paid more than another.  Right now, you should be paid more since your output is better.  That's the bottom line.

Julie Mates · Answer

I agree that your boss shouldn't be asking you to evaluate your coworker. If you feel your boss is grooming you for a leadership role, then maybe you can asked to be mentored with clear goals in mind. You can ask about pay equity in relation to yourself. They should be able to tell you if you are in line with the current role.

Motta · Answer

1) Just to be clear, you don't actually know if he has a higher salary, right?
2) If he is not performing well, then it is not your responsibility to 'find out why'. That is your boss's job.
3) I have had convos with my coworkers (including male coworkers) about how much they make in the past. It really depends on how close/friendly are you with your coworker. If you think your coworker would be ok with it, then go ahead and ask. If you think it might be deemed inappropriate, then it can backfire.
Out of all the people that I asked their salary, only once did it backfire on me. Similar situation. Their work was much worse than mine, but their pay was much higher (and this person knew it too; hence why the person did not want to answer the question xD).

It really depends on the environment and situation in your workplace....

Chantal McKelton · Answer

It doesn't just happen with the 'big' jobs.  My first job was at KFC (which still does not have a union), and I made minimum wage, which in '87 was $3.35/hr..  White guy got hired months later, and they STARTED him at $4.00/hr.  When I asked why, I was told that 'he's got a family'. I was a freshman in college, and I outranked him in seniority, but management decided that I didn't 'need' to make as much money as Family Guy.  To shut me up, they entered us both into the Manager Trainee program, but the 25 cent raise that we got still bumped his salary above mine.  I quit soon after that. When I heard Oprah tell her story about wage inequality, I realized how big a 'thing' this was--and they're still doing it!

Male co-worker in same position, pay equity conversations

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