The Bottom Line - Pay: What If You Knew What Your Colleagues Earned?
Download Pay: What If You Knew What Your Colleagues Earned?
Discussing pay is one of society’s big taboos - it’s just not the done thing to ask other people what they earn. And it can be even more hush-hush in the workplace - we’re not told to keep quiet, but somehow everyone does. And yet, most of us would love to know what our colleagues earn.
So would lifting the lid on salaries trigger resentment and frustration, or be a tool for fairness and accountability? Evan Davis explores the pros and cons of pay transparency — from closing gender pay gaps to boosting retention – and speaks to one boss who’s tried a radical approach.
Is it the next frontier in corporate accountability, or does the culture of secrecy still serve a purpose?
Evan is joined by:
Bob Leung, CEO, Grant Tree;
Justine Woolf, Director of Consulting, Innecto;
Clare Kelliher, Professor of Work and Organisation, Cranfield University School of Management.
Production team:
Producer: Osman Iqbal
Editor: Matt Willis
Sound: Neil Churchill and Pete Wise
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Published on Thursday, 12th June 2025.
Available Podcasts from The Bottom Line
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the The Bottom Line webpage.