Stop asking about salary history, employers urged

A gender equality campaign group has urged employers not to ask candidates about their salary history as it believes this contributes to the gender pay gap.

A survey carried out by the Fawcett Society to mark Equal Pay Day today (18 November) – the annual day at which women effectively start to work for free because they are paid less than men on average – found that 58% of women and 54% of men felt that disclosing their previous pay to an employer meant they had been given lower wages than they would have otherwise been offered.

Sixty-one per cent of women said being asked about their previous salary had damaged their confidence to ask for better pay, compared with 53% of men.

The survey of 2,000 people also indicated that not asking for salary in a job interview could be beneficial for an employer’s brand. Sixty-three per cent of women and 58% of men would think more highly of an employer that did not ask for salary history.

You can see the full article here: Personnel Today.