Your coworkers make more. You are the only Black woman. Now what?
Do not argue from one salary number. Verify whether the work is comparable, build a range your employer can recognize, ask for a formal review, and judge the company by the specificity of its answer.
You have a difference. You do not yet have an explanation.
The gap could reflect work, level, location, timing, performance, or hiring conditions. It could also reveal inconsistent standards or discrimination. One disclosed salary cannot tell you which.
Turn the comparison into five questions the company must answer.
Ask what range applies, where you sit in it, which criteria explain that placement, who owns the review, and when you will receive a written decision.
A credible response names five things.
The applicable range, your placement, the criteria used, the decision owner, and the response date. If one is missing, ask for it before you leave the meeting.
Is this a fair comparison?
A matching title is not enough. Compare the factors your employer says determine pay and apply those factors consistently.
List recurring duties, decisions, clients, systems, and problems owned, not only the written job description.
Compare budget, revenue, team size, risk, geography, complexity, and decision authority.
Confirm job code, grade, employment type, office or remote zone, and the approved salary band.
Focus on role-relevant experience, specialized skills, credentials, and the hiring market at the time.
Use written goals, ratings, measurable outcomes, awards, and evidence that the same standard was applied.
Separate base salary from bonus, equity, overtime, retirement contributions, and other material benefits.
What can you verify?
The useful question is not “Why do they make more?” It is “Which criteria explain the difference and were they applied consistently?”
Build a range the company can recognize.
Work from the inside out. Evidence tied to your employer, level, location, and actual work is more useful than a broad salary average.
Start with the employer
Ask for the job code, approved band, placement criteria, compensation philosophy, and the date your role was last reviewed.
Match current roles
Collect three to five postings with similar duties, level, industry, and location. Save the range, date, and why each is comparable.
Use official data
Use occupation, region, and industry wage data as a market reference, not proof of what one employer must pay.
Use salary sites carefully
Self-reported data can mix levels, locations, and compensation types. Use it to form questions, not as your only evidence.
Open the research tools
Make a case that can travel without you.
The decision may move from your manager to HR, finance, or a senior leader. Your document should let someone else explain the request accurately in two minutes.
Your one-page case
Keep the argument short enough to forward and specific enough to verify.
- Current role, level, and accountable scope
- Three measurable outcomes with dates
- Internal range or closest available evidence
- The adjustment or formal review requested
- The decision owner and response date
ROLE AND SCOPE My title / level: What I am accountable for now: Responsibilities added since hire: MEASURABLE IMPACT 1. What changed / result / date: 2. What changed / result / date: 3. What changed / result / date: COMPENSATION EVIDENCE Internal band or job code: Comparable current postings: Official occupation / location benchmark: REQUEST Requested base salary or review: Decision owner: Requested written response date:
Ask for a formal review, not reassurance.
Ask for a process that produces information: the range, your placement, the criteria, the decision owner, the evidence required, and the response date.
Hi [Manager], I would like to schedule 30 minutes to review whether my compensation is aligned with my current scope, results, and the company's pay criteria. I have prepared a one-page summary. Could we meet by [date]?
My current scope includes [responsibilities], and over [period] I delivered [two or three outcomes]. I am requesting a formal compensation review and an adjustment to [amount or range] based on that work and the evidence in this summary. What process will be used to evaluate the request?
What is the approved range for my role and location, where am I positioned within it, which criteria determined that placement, and when was my compensation last reviewed for internal equity and market alignment?
I understand that the timing of an adjustment may depend on budget. I still need the alignment question reviewed. Who will determine whether my current pay matches my scope and the company's criteria, and by what date will I receive that answer in writing?
Thank you for meeting today. I requested a compensation review based on [scope, results, and range evidence]. My understanding is that [owner] will review [criteria] and provide a written response by [date]. Please let me know if I missed or misstated anything.
Do you need to name the coworker?
Usually, no. You can ask for an internal-equity review using your role, scope, results, and the company's criteria. If you name someone, protect their consent and explain why that comparison is relevant. Do not make their pay the only evidence behind your request.
The quality of the answer is information.
A credible response does not have to be an immediate yes. It does need to be specific enough to evaluate.
Specific and testable
You receive the range, placement criteria, review owner, required evidence, and date for a written decision.
Praise without ownership
You hear support, future possibilities, or budget language, but no named decision-maker or review date.
The reason keeps moving
Seniority becomes performance, performance becomes timing, and each completed requirement produces another unwritten one.
Know the guardrails and the limits.
These are research starting points, not conclusions about your employer or a substitute for advice tied to your facts and location.
Title VII prohibits race and color discrimination in pay and other employment terms. The facts still determine whether a specific difference is unlawful.
The NLRA protects wage discussions for many private-sector employees, but coverage has exceptions, including supervisors, government workers, and independent contractors.
EEOC charges generally have a 180-day deadline, sometimes extended to 300 days. Federal employees generally have 45 days to contact an EEO counselor.
The EEOC states that other dispute-resolution efforts generally do not extend its filing deadlines. Seek qualified guidance promptly if legal action is under consideration.
Move from discovery to a decision.
Give the internal process a defined window. Your timeline should not depend on indefinite promises.
Separate facts from assumptions
Record what you learned, protect the source, and complete the comparison worksheet.
Build the research packet
Find the internal band, close postings, an official benchmark, and three measurable outcomes.
Request the review
Use the script. Ask for the criteria, process, owner, and written response date.
Evaluate the answer
Decide whether to continue internally, seek qualified advice, or test the external market.
What people ask next.
Should I tell my manager that I know a coworker makes more?
You can request an internal-equity and market review without naming the person. Lead with your scope, results, the applicable range, and a specific request. Name a coworker only with their permission and when the comparison is necessary.
What if my coworker negotiated better when they were hired?
That may explain how the difference began. It does not answer whether your current pay is aligned with your current scope and the company's present criteria. Ask what determines placement now and what correction process exists.
Should I ask for a raise or a pay-equity adjustment?
Use language that matches the evidence. If your role grew or the market moved, ask for a market or scope adjustment. If comparable employees appear to be treated differently, ask for an internal-equity review. You can ask for both without making a legal conclusion.
What if the company refuses to share a salary range?
Ask for the job level, placement criteria, review process, and what evidence would support an adjustment. Document the refusal, continue building external range evidence, and check whether your state or locality has applicable pay-transparency rules.
Know what this guide can tell you.
Reviewed against federal guidance and wage-data resources available September 27, 2026. State and local protections may be different or stronger.
