To end pay inequity, faculty must begin discussing wages, says Vitae contributor

In a discussion on pay inequity, Johnathan Rees highlights two common issues in the academic workplace: “salary compression,” where the pay gap between new hires and senior professors becomes smaller as the institution strives to remain competitive; and “salary inversion,” where new hires make more than senior faculty due to ongoing salary compression and a lack of wage adjustment. Rees discusses factors that contribute to these issues, and concludes that the situation will only be solved through communication and collective action. “We faculty have to start by talking to each other—both about what our salaries are and about what our workloads are,” writes Rees. “As individuals, we will never make more than the labor market will allow, but together we can begin to design equitable solutions that cut across arbitrary and unfair employment categories.” Chronicle Vitae