Study finds salary history bans boost pay for African-Americans, women
Study finds salary history bans boost pay for African-Americans, women
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As many companies across the U.S. explore ways to promote more racial equality in hiring, new research suggests banning salary history questions for job applicants provides considerable benefits for African-Americans and women.
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Researchers at Boston University in a working paper released this week found that after states implemented salary history bans — which limit employers' ability to ask applicants about their past earnings — pay for job switchers increased 5% more on average than for comparable job changers not covered by such a ban. The benefits were even greater for African-Americans and women, who saw increases that were respectively 13% and 8% higher, the study found.
The thinking is that employers who don't know how much a worker is earning at their old job can't use that to offer less than they would otherwise, according to James Bessen, the study's lead author and an economist at Boston University School of Law.
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The bans may benefit women and minorities more than others because they make it harder for employers' salary offers to perpetuate any past pay inequities a worker may have experienced due to discrimination, he said.
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