I recently found out that my direct report makes more than me. When I brought it up with management, my responsibilities, contributions, and skills were explicitly recognized as more valuable, but they also told me that this happens to many people at the ACD level. I am a woman of color and the only manager at my company who is currently experiencing this, but they have assured me it is not a case of discrimination but an "oversight." There is not plan in place to address the disparity—opinions?

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I’ve had the same experience. The senior creative under me jumped around a lot, whereas I’d been with my current agency awhile and just gotten the yearly 10% bump.

I avoided making it about a comparison between my salary and someone else’s because I was warned that never works. I made it about my contributions (like it seems you did) and what fair market value for my role was. They never fixed it, so I ended up leaving.

If management (your ECD) knows you’re underpaid for your position (under 135k in NYC) hasn’t talked to you about fixing it and basically just said “tough luck” then you should start looking to bounce.

Someone will eventually pay you what you’re worth, and the best revenge is leaving them to deal with their overpaid, underperforming senior.

likesmarthelpful

This is solid advice and I agree, griping or comparing never works. It’s always more about what you are bringing to the table and fair market value. You should state your case but also dust off your CV and start looking around.

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A lot of the advice on this thread to me feels like it’s coming from a white person perspective. The headline here is hidden: OP is a woman of color. The environment we are in right now is exactly the right moment to bring this up. OP: two QQs as I don’t want to make assumptions with out facts: what gender and race is your direct report? Also, it sounds like you’ve had this convo with your manager, but what about HR? If you haven’t already, I’d recommend you schedule time with HR (senior the better), and explain that you’ve had the convo with your manager, share the response you got, and let them know you’d like HR to be aware. How you do this is really important: keep it informational, factual, unemotional. Express some kind of outcome that would restore your motivation, (equal pay minimum), and put the ball in their court by asking “what is the best way for us to resolve this situation”? Add that you recognise an answer may not be forthcoming in that moment, and ask what a reasonable timeline would be to regroup. Try to keep it very professional and leave indignation or a lack of fairness out of it. Finally, is there someone you trust at a senior level that you think might advocate for you behind closed door discussions? Someone who values your work and contributions? Again the senior the better. In my experience, senior people are often not even aware of these types of discrepancies. It may help a lot to identify the right person to be representing you in this cause.

likehelpful

@OP: I 1000% agree! I’ve had similar conversations with my colleagues about the lack of diverse positions held by Asians in the company as most of the community works in data analysis. I’d love to connect as I agree that we need more Asian representation in creative as well.

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Guys. Stop ignoring she is a WOC. And they said it was an oversight. Keep the pressure on. Give them a timeline to fix it.

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You have every right to say that now that we have uncovered the oversight, you’d like to understand what the plan is to address it. Did your company make a statement of support for BICOP after George Floyd’s murder? If so, one option would be to say to HR “this company has made it clear that it wishes to advance justice for BIPOC communities and that starts with addressing pay disparities within our walls.” Or, you could ask if the company has done a market comp assessment for your role that they could share? My company routinely does this for all roles and shares them with the employee when there are questions. I’m so sorry you’re going through this - it’s so frustrating to feel like your company isn’t prioritizing compensating you at a level that’s commensurate with the value you bring. If you’re otherwise happy there though, you owe it to yourself to see if you can work through it with them before trying to make a change given the state of the world at this moment. Good luck!!

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I was underpaid as well, and performing well above the others at my level.

I do a lot more than the rest. Essentially I could make an entire department redudant because I was able to make apps that would make them redudant. I was not allowed by management to do this. I left and almost doubled my salary.

It comes a point in one's career where the only way to make more was to take your skills elsewhere. Sometimes you have just outgrown your role and/your company. Don't take it personally.

likehelpful

It happens frequently. People who jump around a lot will often make more money than people who stay in the same agency for a long time. The pay jumps are bigger and more frequent for people who keep hopping. This isn’t to say there isn’t some form of discrimination going on, but generally speaking if you want to be paid more, you’ve gotta jump ship.

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👆🏻agreed VP. I do the cost outs when we hire and staff- there are salary bands so I’m not sure how this happened, nor do i know the gap from OP to her subordinate.

While this is an important time that has put a finer point on the absolute injustices that have long been overlooked, everyone should KNOW THEIR WORTH regardless of race, gender and economic background - understand and embrace the value you provide and bring and always leverage that. You’ve made the important first step in identifying the issue, now do it with the right people - Very senior HR. To be clear, at most agencies even us folks at the sr and exec level don’t know what each person makes on our team as we get a ballpark cost that we use during negotiations. If we extend an offer then we know what we offered but coming into a team already established it’s not public knowledge. Assuming you are in good standing at the company, clearly outline your contributions. While I’m not a WOC, i am a woman, and I’ve fought for everything I have by bringing attention to my value and refusing to settle for less. This is your time...get it girl!!

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Times are different now. HR isn’t always helpful, as salary mgmt is part of their job, but good to go on record and ask the questions.

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I would never, ever let that happen in my dept.

I don't know the whole story, of course, but it shows incredibly poor judgement on your managers' part. Not just your boss, but HR and finance.

Look at the massive risk the company has taken on by saving...what? 30-50k/yr?

Maybe it is an oversight, but it's a really stupid one. I hope they were profusely apologetic. I think you're well within your rights to name your (well-researched) number and to ask for the oversight to be fixed by Friday.

If you want advice on how to approach this, I'd be happy to talk outside of this app.

likehelpful

If you are a woman of color please broadcast that while you look for a new job. You are in high demand right now so please take advantage and ask for gobs of money!

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Keep pushing the issue! I’m a WOC too and agencies need people like us. If you’re a high performer and well liked they won’t want to lose you. I don’t know where you work or the structure but at a large agency, my suggestion would be to go straight the CCO and/or creative recruiter. They’re the only ones who can fix this and have a birds eye view of salaries and performance. ECDs may not have the power to do it on their own because budgets are so connected to client fees, but CCOs can bypass that. Be honest, be kind, but be firm. Ask for a date for them to correct it by if it’s not resolved right away. Please keep us posted.

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Unless they fix this immediately, it’s no “oversight”. I may give them the benefit of the doubt before bringing it up, but after they know, it can’t be called an “oversight” anymore. It’s discrimination.

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This happened to me at my last agency (I’m a woman) and I was more or less scoffed at about it. This was also despite the fact that I laid of my value and experience that exceeded my reports. I left and made it known that the way they disregard women is bs, and how they inappropriately manage salaries is embarrassing.

Leave and take your value elsewhere when you can. Your feelings are valid.

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I make more than my white male boss because he was promoted internally, and I had them over a barrel. I feel bad for him, and pray to Jesus he doesn’t know, but every company will try and screw you no matter what.

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Yup yup, sounds like typical holdco bullshit.

Without knowing the background, the person you approached might not be at the right level, Typically it’s the very senior officers that have the power to make those moves. Before HR, make sure you are taking it up with the most sr person on your team - SVP, ECD...we hate feeling blindsided before being able to act as an advocate FOR you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone has gone to HR on an issue that i wished they had come to me first. When you talk to your ECD, first express your frustration at the lack of compensation parity and remind them of the value you bring and your seniority. Be direct and ask if they are the right person to talk to and let them know that your first instinct was to address with HR but wanted to talk to them first. At the end, you might not feel satisfied and let them know that you still want to discuss with HR. It might be that your role is underfunded on your account, then it could mean moving accounts. Put your cards on the table in a super open, honest and transparent way, again this is about KNOWING YOUR VALUE. Movements like the one we are going through should give you the permission to own your confidence.

feel free to DM me if you want any other tips or to get some career advice on how to handle.

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The pay bands some people described in this thread is something large holding companies do... it sounds like you're in a small agency, if so it could be beneficial to start looking for ways to prove your worth in numbers... usually this means another offer to start a discussion with your bosses

The whole “rockstar who doesn’t want to manage” thing is very rare- I wouldn’t assume that’s the case here. The person with a high salary due to hopping around is much more common. This came up recently at one of my holding company’s seminars and the answer was basically “every salary has a story.” Umm ok. I guess the problem is that if the company wants to hire someone and they demand a certain amount the company will make it happen- but won’t look at it in context within the other employees. It’s bad enough someone at a lower level makes more than someone higher up within a company, but there really should be a rule when it comes to managers. It’s just not ok.
OP, I’d they won’t remedy it, I say leave.

likehelpful

Hmmm... I suppose thats why you call them rockstars.

Honestly I think the best thing to do is leave. I doubt there’s another solution at this time.

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Get out

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likefunny

Lolz, and agree, but also I think she needs to hold their feet to the fire on this one.

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In this environment you go back to HR and put in writing that you are hoping to see this disparity corrected. Ask for retro-active correction, too.

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Pay should be based on creative ability not management levels. There are too many management levels. And too many people snagging management jobs to coast in while they finance having kids and do little actual work. That's what makes the industry so topheavy and phony. Baseball managers can make a lot less than the people they manage. (Still in your case it sounds like there may be discrimination.)

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Also, there are agencies that run on your premise as well. Only self-managing, self-starter superstars. You need to look out for them.

Mighty Hive, Facebook (yes some say FB is just another agency), scrappy start up/boutique agencies.

The holding companies are notorious for putting seat warmers for billable hours, but there are pockets of good work.

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There needs to be a plan with retroactive pay. Otherwise, believe what they are saying they think your worth and look elsewhere.

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I don’t think there’s any tiptoeing around this. Clearly, your value has changed now that your report(s) are making more. There’s no negotiation or “waiting until”; you need an increase now. You could also demand a bonus to offset past discrepancies. Also, I think you should always have visibility into your direct reports salaries, so the fact that you didn’t/don’t says a lot about how your company values you.

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