Yes, you read that right. Companies are now stating flat-out that workers salaries are not up for negotiation.
Why are they doing it? Is it a good idea? Let's talk about it below the fold.
The root cause of the trend, according to the articles I've read, is Reddit. Reddit lost a gender discrimination suit over its salary practices, and decided to ban the practice of negotiating salaries in order to ensure employees of both genders get equal pay. Why? The CEO of Reddit - Ellen Pao - feels that "men negotiate harder."
I'm at a loss here.
On the one hand, I'm happy that steps are being taken to ensure there is no pay gap between genders.
On the other? One of the chief arguments made against unionization is that employees can simply negotiate their own salaries and therefore, they don't need unions. Additionally, I think it's pretty damn demeaning to women to say they don't have the skills or desire to negotiate just as hard as a man would.
Is this a real solution for equal pay? Or just a ruse using "equal pay" as an excuse to slam the door on employees negotiating pay?
Honestly, I just don't know - but I'm leaning towards just another excuse used to screw workers. A dastardly one at that, trying to use a legitimate issue (the pay gap) as an excuse to keep the outrage down. One thing is for certain: I certainly don't believe women cannot negotiate as well as men.