Global Pay Transparency Trends Emphasize Employer Unpreparedness

Despite global pay transparency trends suggesting that it is an increasingly important consideration for candidates who are seeking a job, only 19% of U.S. companies surveyed by Mercer have a pay transparency strategy in place. 

Regulations around pay transparency have been slow to come but the open sharing of information on wages and salaries has slowly grown to become a central topic of discussion when it comes to hiring. 

Employees who have repeatedly found themselves at a disadvantage compared to their better-paid colleagues have begun to voice their preference for clear explanations of the pay available for any given role. New York, California, and a few other states are making an active effort to make pay transparency in companies a commonplace phenomenon, but businesses have continued to resist the change. 

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Global Pay Transparency Trends Suggest It’s Time for a New Approach

Some trends may rise and fade quickly, but others change the landscape of work beyond measure. One such push for change has been the arrival of pay transparency laws and their inclusion as a part of HR strategy. Mercer’s 2024 Global Pay Transparency Survey Report, which was released on January 10, 2025, has provided considerable insight into the matter.

According to the report, only 19% of U.S. companies have a pay transparency strategy in place, despite 75% of these U.S. employers admitting that they believe candidates want transparency. Over 54% of these employers also believed that current employees expected it. Whether you choose to believe the data or draw your conclusions from your own workplace, it has become more than apparent that employees have become more vocal about matters of pay and compensation.

Employees across the globe have always acknowledged that there was likely a pay disparity between them and their coworkers, but it was never acceptable for them to investigate the matter. Now, global pay transparency trends represent these workers’ hopes that organizations will become more open about the pay available for any specific role and that they will ensure that all those who do the same work are similarly paid.

Pay Transparency Among Companies Is Being Motivated by Regulations

The Mercer report was able to explain that while fewer companies already had a pay transparency strategy in place, 63% of these U.S. organizations were looking into finding a way to share their pay-related information, both for job seekers and existing employees. Around 56% of them even went so far as to say that employees should be given access to this information, regardless of where they work globally.

Employers, while resistant to the idea of publicly sharing this data are still looking into ways to put this information out for those interested. Unfortunately, a large portion of this movement—at least 77% of it—is motivated by employers’ desire to meet regulations and stay in line with what is expected of them legally.

For more than 50% of the companies, however, the implementation of pay transparency as a part of the HR strategy is being motivated by an effort to align with the company values and inclusion goals or to increase employee satisfaction with regard to pay.

There are many other reasons for the shifting policy that are cited as well, from enhancing the employer brand to aligning the business with the pay equity strategy, however, at the end of the day, it’s the commitment that counts. 

Should Pay Transparency be a Priority for HR Implementation?

In the U.S., pay transparency strategies are being encouraged by state powers in some regions, but other states could soon catch up and make it mandatory as well. The risk of central government championing the cause of pay transparency remains relatively low for the next few years, however, change in policy can arrive unexpectedly. Instead of waiting for external authorities to intervene, employees can extend a hand to prospective employees and provide the data voluntarily. 

As the HR team has the most direct interaction and impact on employees, employers need to start working with them to explore the potential applications of pay transparency across the organization. From recruitment to performance evaluations, there are many different areas where HR can bring in pay transparency. 

Not only will this establish a more honest relationship with employees, but employers can also show their workers their commitment to holding each other accountable for the work that is done at the organization. As we get started with this new year, it is up to employers to determine whether they want to be a part of a movement that fairly rewards employees for the work that they do at the organization. 

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