MIND THE GAP

These companies go to extreme lengths to achieve equal pay for equal work

SALESFORCE.COM In 2015, the San Francisco-based CRM company analyzed its payroll and then spent $3 million to close the pay gap it found. This year, it spent another $3 million topping up salaries when another audit showed that the gap had returned. “It’s a moving target,” wrote EVP Cindy Robbins at the time. “It must be consistently monitored and addressed.”

BUFFER The social media management platform, based in San Francisco, posts a list of its salaries, as well as the formula it uses to determine them. The transparency has helped the company get closer to a near-zero wage gap for those in similar roles, says spokesperson Hailley Griffis, and company-wide, the gap between male and female employees is now $2,400 per year, down from the $9,500 found in the first salary audit. “We still have more work to do to get to zero,” says Griffis.

SKILLSHARE This online learning company in New York City ended salary negotiations in April 2017 after a review found that good negotiators were making up to $10,000 per year more than others with similar jobs, says COO Matt Cooper. Today, “take it or leave it” offers are based on a simple grid that assigns salary according to job type and skill level. Cooper says the new policy has helped the company achieve gender wage parity and hasn’t hurt its hiring spree–the 50-employee company added 15 staffers since it was adopted.