AFP Chapter Spotlight: AFP Greater Los Angeles Chapter

In this chapter spotlight, we’re highlighting the AFP Greater Los Angeles Chapter as they discuss salary transparency, how it promotes equity within the charitable sector and more.

Why did your chapter feel compelled to include salary ranges within job descriptions? 
Salary transparency is an important way to help establish pay equity. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the California Equal Pay Act prohibited employers from seeking applicants’ salary history information and required them to supply pay scales upon the request of an applicant. These amendments strengthened requirements were designed to promote more equitable pay practices among employers and the chapter leadership felt requiring salary ranges in job postings was in keeping with these changes. 

How does this practice promote equity in the sector?
Salaries are established based on position requirements. Basing compensation on one’s previous salary can reinforces historical pay inequity and creates more opportunity for other biases to affect compensation. When salaries are stated in advance, an applicant’s compensation is no longer based on their wage and benefit history, which may have been negatively impacted by the gender and/or race bias of previous employers. Rather than continuing to depress the wages of previously under-compensated, disclosure levels the playing field and means that every applicant who is qualified for a position will be paid within the same range. 

From your perspective, what are the benefits of including salary ranges in job descriptions? 
Including salaries within job descriptions helps to attract more candidates. It also sets accurate salary expectations and establishes a baseline of honest information sharing between the hiring organization and the applicants. It begins to address wage disparity for women and people of color by standardizing how employers recruit. It also affords prospective applicants, early in the process, an opportunity to weigh the value an employer places on the advertised position.

What has the response been since making the change and was it easy to implement in your Chapter?  
We find we need to explain the requirement and sometimes there is hesitancy to include the information. The hesitancy may stem from a lack of salary transparency within that organization, or a historic practice of withholding salary information from current employees (to avoid triggering questions about pay equity). But explaining that including salary ranges within job descriptions is a best practice that has been adopted by AFP is very persuasive. It can open an important discussion too. We believe employers are understanding of the state’s requirements and of the benefit they afford to every applicant.

What would you say to organizations and other AFP chapters who are considering requiring salary ranges within job descriptions? 
We highly recommend requiring salary ranges within job descriptions. The practice communicates the values of AFP and puts an important principle into action. While it may be difficult initially to get advertisers on board, it’s the right thing to do, and we believe most of them will see the wisdom of it, too.