Woman shares her entire salary history on LinkedIn to encourage pay transparency

It's high time employers and companies get candid and transparent about the range of salaries they are ready to offer. Doing so will save themselves and potential employees a lot of time and effort. Being transparent about pay is often shushed in order to keep the pay gaps among employees under the rug. This, however, won't work anymore. Charlotte Chaze (@charlottechaze), the founder of Break Into Tech, sparked a discussion on this topic by sharing a TikTok video explaining why she added her entire salary history to her LinkedIn profile. The video clip garnered more than 500 thousand views. 

In the video, she shares, "I just added my salary information to every full-time job I've had that's on my LinkedIn—from unpaid to $12 an hour, two Euros an hour, $29k, $28k, $70k, $90k, $104k, to $158k. I know this won't catch on on LinkedIn, but if it did..." Chaze added in the caption: "Salary transparency on my LinkedIn for every job I've had that's worthy enough to be on LinkedIn. I don't have my time at Domino's Pizza, Smoothie King, Cheeburger Cheeburger, Coldstone Creamery, or Chesapeake Bay Candles on there! I actually 'don't' recommend doing this yourself. Showing a potential future employer what you currently make could cause them to lowball you! I'm just doing it because I can and it's helpful for others. Use it to your advantage!" 

While some viewers appreciated the transparency, others pointed out some loopholes that she addressed later in the comment section. "Making a jump from 28k to 70k is impressive and this is the hope and inspiration I needed to see today," commented @not a cat. "The other side is employers using your current and past salary to lowball your new salary if it's a jump in pay," pointed out @drski3 to which Chaze clarified, "Agreed! most people should not do this. I'm in a unique position where sharing isn't damaging for me personally."

"Not gonna catch on. The labor market is only competitive when companies have to compete for good employees regardless of how undervalued they were," wrote @ajawed0 to which Chaze replied, "I think employees shouldn't be transparent with companies, but companies need to be transparent with employees!" "I just wish job listings would at least list a salary range. Too many have absolutely no information," added @hudakm7. 

Chaze shared this information to demonstrate to others that their earning potential is greater than they realize, she told BuzzFeed. "I shared my salaries because I wanted to show my personal example of going from $28k to $70k in one job change, and then to $158k just a few years later. When I was making a low salary, I never thought I'd make it to six figures, so I broke down all the salaries I made along the way to show how it can be done, even if you're starting really low. It's all about showing people what's possible as motivation to go for what you deserve," she said.

She also explained why she felt comfortable revealing her entire salary history for all to see on the Internet. "I'm in a privileged position to be transparent about what I've made at all of my jobs because I now work for my own business, so I don't risk getting low-balled by a future employer. The recruiters and hiring managers who have weighed in seem to agree with that idea overall, although some have suggested that your current and previous salaries shouldn't matter when you apply for a new job. I think we all agree on that, which is why I don't recommend that most people post their salaries," Chaze stated.

Chaze also expressed her belief that salary transparency will play a significant role in closing gender and racial wealth gaps and reducing income inequality. "When employees don't know what everyone is making, the rich white cis male CEOs named John win. They can pay Ariana $20k less than she deserves (and $10k less than Chad) because no one taught her that she needs to ask for the salary range in the first interview and negotiate when she gets the offer," she said, adding that learning new skills such as data analytics and teaching skills helps her upgrade her pay.