The simple reason employers must publish salaries on job adverts

Back in 2007, when I was working alongside my now co-founder Laura, I found out she was being paid more than me – even though we were doing the exact same job.

Same role, same responsibilities, same outcomes. Different salaries.

It wasn’t deliberate malice. But it was a clear reminder that pay secrecy allows inequality to thrive – quietly and persistently.

We weren’t meant to know what each other earned. But once we did, it changed how we viewed fairness at work forever. So, years later, when we set up our purpose-driven comms agency, Jack & Grace, we were clear about one thing: we’d always be open about pay.

This year, we launched #SayThePay, a campaign calling on UK employers to publish salaries on job adverts. Not just because it’s the decent thing to do – but because pay transparency is a powerful tool in dismantling inequality.

It’s easy to shrug off a lack of salary information as a small admin decision or HR tradition. But its consequences are far-reaching – and they almost always fall hardest on those who are already marginalised.

Pay secrecy doesn’t just hide numbers. It hides bias

When salaries are kept secret, people doing the same job routinely earn wildly different amounts. That difference isn’t always based on skill or experience. More often, it reflects how confidently someone negotiates, or what they earned in their last job.

This is how inequality quietly gets baked into organisations. And once it’s in, it’s hard to level.

We know from the data that women, people of colour, disabled people and those from working-class backgrounds are consistently underpaid. And when pay is hidden, there’s no way for them to know if they’re being short-changed – or for employers to proactively fix it.

In fact, a People Like Us survey found 73% of Black African and Caribbean professionals believe a white colleague doing the same job is paid more. The Fawcett Society reports women in the UK earn, on average, £631 less than men each month.

Employers often argue that keeping salaries private avoids conflict. But silence doesn’t prevent inequality – it protects it.

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And anyway… people talk

Our survey found around two in five people (41%) discovered a colleague in the same role was paid either more or less than them. And when that happens, whether informally, over lunch or via Glassdoor, they lose trust in their employers. Or they leave altogether. Secrecy doesn’t prevent pay disputes – it causes them.

We’ve also heard that listing pay limits an employer’s ‘flexibility’ when hiring. But too often, this just means paying the best negotiators more. And statistically, the best negotiators tend to be those with the most privilege – those who’ve been told all their lives they deserve more.

Imagine walking into a shop with no prices on display: you browse the shelves, head to the till, and the price you’re charged depends on what you earned last year or where you went to school. Isn’t that absurd? Most of us would call that unfair. And yet, we’ve normalised that very system in the workplace.

At the recruitment stage, applicants are expected to share their CVs, experience, references, and aspirations without knowing if the role will pay enough to cover their rent or childcare. In this context, withholding pay isn’t just a bad experience – it’s an act of exclusion.

Our polling shows almost two thirds of jobseekers (64%) won’t apply for a job unless the salary is listed. By not disclosing pay, employers are limiting who applies – and reinforcing barriers to opportunity.

In countries where salary transparency is the law, inequality shrinks

In Sweden, where transparency is the norm, the gender pay gap between people doing the same job is just 6%. In the UK, we’re nowhere near that. And despite some progress – including Labour’s call for evidence on equality law reforms, which include potential measures to promote salary transparency – we’re still lagging behind.

For the sake of fairness, inclusion and progress, it’s time we caught up. Our survey found over half of people (57%) would be willing to share their own salary if it would help to reduce pay inequality – a figure that rises to 62% among 16–34-year-olds. The data points to a clear shift in attitudes, particularly among younger workers, who increasingly expect openness around pay as standard.

Publishing salaries is one of the most effective interventions an employer can make to improve equality. It helps current staff benchmark their worth. It holds decision-makers accountable. And it sets a clear standard: we value transparency, and we pay fairly.

The truth is this: when pay is kept secret, inequality flourishes. It hides injustice, penalises the underrepresented, and locks people out of opportunity. It’s bad for staff, bad for retention, and bad for trust. But we can change that. A good place to start is to Say The Pay.

Nyree Ambarchian is the co-founder of Jack & Grace, a B Corp communications agency that works with people and organisations driving positive change. Say the Pay is an awareness campaign urging all UK businesses to be transparent about pay and publish salaries in job ads.

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