Salary Transparency is Needed in the Social Impact Space

This summer, I created a social impact job board on the WordSpark website. This space was intended to be a centralized location for the many open job listings friends in the field regularly send me. However, I wanted this resource to be a little different. I committed to only positing position descriptions that include a salary or consultant budget.

In less than one week post-launch of the page, there were nearly 1,000 visits recorded from interested candidates across the globe. This shows that transparent salary listings are valuable and help candidates make critical decisions about their future while holding organizations accountable for aligning job responsibilities with an appropriate monetary value, instead of putting the responsibility to understand complex market rate fluctuations on the job seeker.

I've been there. When I started out in the workforce, I had no idea of what level of compensation was considered "fair". In my younger years, I lacked the confidence to negotiate during the interview process. I was just grateful to have reliable employment, something my own family never experienced when I was growing up. I remember the sinking feeling I had when I realized much later in my career I had left money on the table that was likely given to others in similar roles, just because they asked.

The wage gap continues to perpetuate systems of inequity that ripple far and wide. While a salary range doesn't tell the full picture related to an organization's overall benefits, nor speak to the health of the team culture, providing a concrete level of compensation tells someone immediately if this is a wage that will support their needs and overall quality of life.

We all deserve to be compensated fairly in relation to the value we bring to an organization and not guesstimate employer budgets. Candidates should know upfront if a job aligns with their financial expectations before engaging in the labor an application and interview process requires.

These beliefs are what sparked my idea for this job board. A free resource that shows job title, company, location, and transparent salary listing in a way that's easy to scan. Something I wish I had access to in past moments when I was considering where I show up in the workforce.

Please share the link to the job board widely and continue to send your open opportunities. Links and job info will be updated on the 15th of each month. Thank you for your support!

WordSpark Digital Consulting is a social impact consultancy based on the East Coast. Ready to learn more about how you can use effective strategy to deepen your connection with relevant audiences? Let’s connect.