It was recently revealed to me, a female middle manager at a soctware startup, that a fresh out of college new (male) hire on our sales team is making only a small amount less than me. Am i justified in being upset, and asking my boss for an explanation?
You are
Sure, go for it. Keep in mind that while this could be workplace sexism, it also might not be. For example at Salesforce it's really common these days to see a new hire senior engineer making significantly more than a lead engineer whose been with the company for three years. That would still be shitty, but it would be shitty in a different way. Good luck either way though.
In this case his role is that of SDR, so it doesn’t get much more junior than that, and I came to this company nearly 3 years ago with team management experience. My supervisor doesn’t supervise that team or set their comp packages, but I feel like my company must not value me in general if my pay is remarkably close to this individual’s. :(
Yeah, that sucks. Talk to your manager about it.
Fresh grad salaries have gone up. They're not going to immediately raise your salary even if you ask, it will only increase the tension between you and your manager. It would be easier to start looking outside for salary raise. Meanwhile try asking in an off handed way, if it's a good manager he will try to answer honestly, otherwise you might get all kinds of lies, beating around the bush.
That’s good advice, can you help me understand what you mean about asking in an off handed way? Those kind of conversations make me so nervous, I don’t think I know how to approach casually.
Like don't show that you're upset or angry, obviously we're upset. Ask it like it's a brush off question like at the end of your 1:1, hey I heard that one of the Juniors is earning as much as me, is that even possible? Smile while asking. Your manager tries to explain/ask do you feel like underpaid or says no ways and carries on.
Women are paid less all the time. Most people ignore it. It's good of you to feel angry. To have the most impact I would talk to her directly and see if you can strategize together on a more equitable solution.
New hires are typically paid more than those who were around a while. Regardless of gender. The solution is to change jobs (women tend to do it less because they value WLB more). I switched jobs when I realized new grads 3 levels below me are paid the same.
Oof yeah I think I’m coming to terms with that, I get regular offers via LinkedIn recruiters for much more $, but I love my team and feel an obligation to be loyal so I stay. I think I might be sacrificing my career to help a bunch of already rich white men get richer, while I’m underpaid and have very little equity. Gotta start looking.
You should not feel obligated to work for less.
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all the power to you