Reddit is banning salary negotiations in an attempt to eliminate the gender pay gap at the company.
Details are scant, but in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, interim CEO Ellen Pao explained that one reason behind the decision is because men are traditionally stronger negotiators than women.
“Men negotiate harder than women do and sometimes women get penalized when they do negotiate,” Pao told the Journal. “We come up with an offer that we think is fair. If you want more equity, we’ll let you swap a little bit of your cash salary for equity, but we aren’t going to reward people who are better negotiators with more compensation. We ask people what they think about diversity, and we did weed people out because of that.”
What do you think of Reddit’s latest move? Does it turn away qualified candidates? Does it really level the playing field for all employees?
Guests:
Joelle Emerson, CEO and cofounder of Paradigm, a consultancy in the Bay Area that works with tech companies to cultivate a diverse workforce
Rebecca Kieler, career management consultant based in the Bay Area with 20-plus years of experience in the field. She’s worked with companies such as Sun Micro Systems, Johnson & Johnson, and Yahoo