Tools for Salary Equity
Overview
Job seekers and organizations consistently told us they struggled to understand fair compensation. Salary information was either hidden, inconsistent, or presented in ways that didn’t help people compare roles. This lack of clarity created inequities, especially for early-career professionals, career switchers, and marginalized job seekers.
Our goal was to create a tool that made salary information transparent, approachable, and easy to explore.
Solution
I created a three-part experience that helps users understand salary ranges, compare roles, and explore potential career paths built on a robust non-profit job title database based on years of research.
Approachable data collection
A simple, friendly survey that gathers user salary inputs without intimidation. Bright visuals and clear steps make the process feel welcoming.
Clear salary insights
An interface that presents estimated ranges and machine-learning predictions in a clean, scannable format. Users can compare benchmarks at a glance without needing deep data literacy.
Career path exploration
A visual tool that lets users see how salaries shift with experience, job family, and location, helping them make informed decisions about their next steps.
Results
The Salary Explorer increased engagement across Idealist’s job-seeking tools and generated thousands of new salary data points. Users reported that the tool made compensation feel clearer, more accessible, and easier to act on.
To support the launch, I also designed resources, microsites, visual guides, and additional salary tools as part of a multi-year marketing campaign. These assets helped users navigate salary negotiations, understand career growth paths, and engage with the product through social media, blog content, and email outreach.
