A salary transparency call to action for B Corps

20 hours ago
2 min read

Updated: 15 hours ago

An open letter from the We Show the Salary B Corps Collective, to every B Corp in the UK.

Hiding salaries gives unfairness at work the perfect environment to grow. Like mould.

It means people can earn different amounts for the same job – hiding the issue out of sight so it can’t be spotted or addressed.

But it also goes deeper – it stifles social mobility and fuels entrenched inequalities. It further disadvantages the people already most likely to be disadvantaged at work.

The data backs this up time and again:

The Fawcett Society’s Right To Know report highlights that salary inequality disadvantages people on a gender, age, ethnicity and class basis.
ADP Research reported in 2021 that men in the UK are 8% more likely than women to receive a pay rise or bonus for taking on new roles and extra responsibilities.
In 2020 Samira Ahmed led the charge at the BBC to reveal more than 700 women were being paid less than male counterparts for the same job.
A 2021 survey by People Like Us found just under three quarters of black African and Caribbean professionals “believed a white colleague doing the same job is/was on a higher salary.”

B Corps have a powerful track record of working together to address issues that matter. And Collective Action is a key pillar of the new B Lab standards – recognising that some challenges can only be solved through collective effort to drive systemic change.

We’re a group of B Corps in the UK who are working together on the issue of salary transparency – to surface pay disparity so it can be spotted, to level up unfair pay, and because it goes to the heart of deeper inequalities at work. It’s an inequality double-whammy – the people most likely to face barriers at work are often the same people most likely to be affected by hidden pay disparities: women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, parents returning to work, and people with disabilities.

If you’re a B Corp, salary secrecy is an issue you should care about – and one you can do something about. Here’s how:

Whether you're already showing the salary or exploring how to become more open about pay, join the We Show the Salary B Corps Collective to stand alongside other purpose-driven businesses taking action on pay transparency. Take the We Show the Salary pledge to join today, or get in touch to talk about where you are on your journey towards showing the salary, and how you can get involved as a B Corp now.
Download, read and share our business case for showing the salary, produced by B Corps for B Corps. It explains how this action supports the B Lab Impact Topics and helps build a more equitable and transparent world of work.

Signed by the founding members of the We Show the Salary B Corps Collective