Women’s Group Slams AirBnB & Other Corporations For Refusing to Hire Colorado Workers, Exposing Gender Pay Gap
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 01, 2021
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com
UltraViolet Says AirBnb’s Refusal to Follow State Law Suggests Gender Disparity Issues at the Company
COLORADO – In response to reports that Airbnb is among dozens of corporations refusing to hire remote workers in Colorado to evade a new state law that requires companies to disclose hourly wages and salary ranges in job postings, Bridget Todd, Communications Director at UltraViolet, a leading gender justice organization, issued the following statement, calling out Airbnb for avoiding actions to close the gender and racial pay gap. Todd explained:
“Wage transparency is one of the most effective ways to start diminishing the wealth gap between white men and everyone else. That’s why Colorado’s new law requiring companies to disclose hourly wages and salary ranges in job postings is a good thing.
“By refusing to hire Colorado workers, Airbnb is inadvertently revealing its corporate values, and what little desire the company has to be transparent, or simply give equal pay for equal work. This policy stands to harm Black, Indigenous, and women of color the most. Together, BIPOC women suffered the highest rate of job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic along with the steepest pay disparities with white men nationwide.
“Studies show that women try to negotiate higher salaries or promotions more often than men, but are less likely to succeed and are seen as ‘bossy’ or ‘too aggressive’ as a result. Because of efforts to keep pay levels secret at companies like AirBnb, women don’t even have concrete numbers to reference for their own pay.
“Salary transparency laws are a proven solution. A 2020 report from the National Women’s Law Center found that gender pay gaps are smaller when employers disclose wage ranges in job postings.
“At a time when the United States is grappling with a national labor shortage, and travel companies are experiencing a boom in profits, a potentially massive takeaway is that Airbnb has a serious gender and racial pay gap, or the company just wants to keep wages down for everyone.”
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