How One Website is Pushing for Pay Transparency in Tech
Pay transparency is slowly but surely becoming more of a rule than an exception. That’s definitely a good thing, especially as the gender and racial pay gaps persist. There’s still a long way to go in terms of pay equity, but a resource called Comprehensive.io is hoping to nudge the tech industry in the right direction. The free website shows pay ranges for tech jobs in California and New York City. Something that desperate job seekers have been Googling for years. What we love most about Comprehensive.io is that it gives job seekers who don’t already have extensive networks to reach out to more insight into the pay ranges available. It’s one step in the right direction toward equity across race, class, and gender lines. It lessens the advantage of already having a built-in network of peers to ask the question “how much should I ask for?”
It can also help people piece together which tech companies aren’t disclosing salary ranges in their job posts — something that’s required by law in those areas. That’s probably why so many folks are using it. Here’s how it works.
What is Comprehensive.io?
Every day, this online resource aggregates the job posts of over a thousand top tech companies — then pulls out their salary ranges and publishes them. At the time of this writing, that includes more than 6,000 job titles and 20,539 total job posts across California and New York City, along with remote positions. Most of the big tech players are represented, like Amazon, Tesla, Apple, Google and more. According to Comprehensive.io, 62% of the California companies it tracks are in compliance with pay transparency laws. That number is close to 71% for New York City.
The Comprehensive.io homepage features new and noteworthy pay ranges from major tech companies, along with the top-paying companies and popular job titles. One other interesting tidbit is that many positions reflect extremely wide pay ranges. Software engineer jobs, for example, range anywhere from $135,000 to $200,000. But folks can search for company-specific postings to see what the pay range is like there. Even if you aren’t actively looking for a new job, this data can come in handy when negotiating a pay raise with your current employer.
Why There’s a Need for Tools Like Comprehensive.io
New York City and California (and a few other states and cities) legally require employers to share salary ranges in their job posts. That’s super relevant to the tech industry. Those are the country’s two main tech hubs, and pay inequality is real. In 2021, over two-thirds of positions sent interview requests only to male candidates, according to one Hired survey that focused on wage inequality in the tech industry. Almost half requested interviews with only white or Asian candidates.
Meanwhile, the gender wage gap continues to rage on. In 2022,Payscale found that women earned $0.82 cents for every dollar a man earned. Women of color can face even more challenges, thanks to the intersection of gender and racial biases. This is all to say that pay transparency is sorely needed in the tech industry (and let’s be honest, everywhere!).
Putting it All Together
A lot goes into negotiating compensation. Knowing the pay range is for sure an important factor, but you might want to focus on these other details too:
Bonus structure
Signing bonus
Vacation and paid time off
Parental leave
Fertility support
Retirement plan options (401(k), matching, etc.)
Continuing education
Fringe benefits (pet insurance, pre-tax commuter benefits, etc.)
Going into the interview process with both eyes open can help candidates get the compensation package they deserve. It comes down to knowing your worth, looking at the bigger picture, and being ready to advocate for yourself. Starting a new job can be a big life transition. We’re here to help you financially plan for it if you need a little guidance.