Norton Introduces Bill to Require Employers to Advertise Salary Range for Jobs in Advertisements and Interviews
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), the first woman to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, introduced her bill to require employers to provide the salary range for jobs in advertisements and interviews and to existing employees.
“Salary transparency is an important tool to combat the gender and race pay gaps,” Norton said. “Salary secrecy facilitates both intentional and unintentional pay discrimination and perpetuates pay disparities. This change is long overdue to help eliminate the entrenched wage disparities in the job market."
Norton’s introductory statement follows.
Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the
Introduction of the Salary Transparency Act
March 10, 2025
Today, I introduce the Salary Transparency Act, which would require employers to provide the salary range for jobs in advertisements and interviews and to existing employees.
Several states have enacted laws relating to salary range disclosure, and the federal government should follow their lead and make salary range disclosure a national requirement. Salary transparency is an important tool to combat the gender and race pay gap. Salary secrecy facilitates both intentional and unintentional pay discrimination and perpetuates the pay gap.
Studies have consistently shown that when women negotiate for their salaries, they negotiate for less than similarly situated men. Frequently, this is because the salary they request is a certain percentage higher than their current salary. Because women on average make less than men, this practice perpetuates the pay gap. The same is true for people of color, who earn less on average than their white counterparts. Requiring employers to disclose the salary range for a job will help address this harmful aspect of salary negotiations and lead to a reduction in the gender and race pay gap.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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