Bans On Salary Histories Target Wage Gap

City and state lawmakers are considering laws barring companies from asking new or potential hires to divulge their pay history, a move proponents say could help close the gender pay gap. Hired, an online search platform for technology and start-up jobs, discovered in a recent study that in nearly 7 times out of 10, men received higher salary offers than women for the same job title at the same company. Women’s rights advocates say asking for current or past salary information contributes to unequal pay, and can perpetuate wage disparity for the duration of a woman’s career. This summer Massachusetts became the first state to ban employers from requiring that information. New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey are considering passing similar regulations. Advocates say the strategy is innovative, and a positive step from litigation-based efforts to close the wage gap.