#talkpay trending on twitter to fight gender inequality

On May Day, programmer Lauren Voswinkel started a hashtag that has becoming a trending topic on twitter for its attempt to break the taboo of sharing one’s salary. The hashtag, #talkpay, is being tweeted by countless tech employees who are sharing their salaries without any fear, all in all, to fight gender inequality. The international tech industry is largely dominated by males and such a movement can create a huge change in the financial mindset of IT companies.

I’m a Sr. Software Developer w/ 9 yrs. exp. working remotely from Pittsburgh, PA for a DC based company. I make $122k/yr #talkpay

— Societal Obstacle (@laurenvoswinkel) April 30, 2015

Role: Product Designer (Visual) Experience: 7 years Location: NYC Salary: $100k #talkpay https://t.co/Wpw2AcYrfT

— Shaun Tollerton (@tollerton) May 1, 2015

#talkpay freelance ux research/design w/ 9yrs academic/tech experience. bill 120/hr ~20hrs/week. I'm lucky.

— amelia abreu (@ameliaabreu) May 1, 2015

Some were not so keen on sharing their salaries due to employment concerns.

If you feel your underpaid, ask for more, otherwise give it a rest #talkpay If I disclosed my earnings to the world, I wouldn’t be earning

— Alan Horne (@alanjhorne) May 2, 2015

While #talkpay was mainly encouraged to bring out the salary margin to showcase gender discrimination in companies, a lot of male employees were not afraid to share the fact that their wives or girlfriends end up making much more than they do. In some cases, while the guys felt good about their better halves earning more, their partners felt guilty and had to apologize about their earnings – clearly a sad testament to today’s gender-biased society.