Pay transparency in job listings is less transparent than you might think

Posting wide salary ranges such as $50,000 to $150,000 for a single role can worsen pay inequity, HR professionals say. (Ground Picture/Shutterstock)

When Kate McKenzie was looking for a job in the spring of 2023, she found a mixed bag of approaches to pay transparency — the practice of being upfront about salaries, both internally and when hiring.

"Sometimes the pay would be listed on a job posting. Sometimes it would be a salary range. Sometimes it was not listed at all … and it was impossible to know if the job was well suited for me or not," said McKenzie, who lives in Calgary. 

When she would come across a job posting with an incredibly wide salary range — like $50,000 to $150,000 per year — McKenzie told Cost of Living it left her with the impression "they probably don't know what they actually want in that role."

With pay transparency legislation now in effect in British Columbia, and passed or proposed in several others, companies are being called upon to include salary ranges with job postings, a move advocates say can help close the pay gap.

But while good progress is being made overall, they say, some organizations just aren't playing ball.

She peed in an Amsterdam alley, then waged a 9-year battle for 'urination equality'

Geerte Piening's case sparked nationwide protests, prompted city to earmark $5.8M on public toilets. (Submitted by Geerte Piening)

In 2015, Geerte Piening was on her way home from an Amsterdam bar when nature called. Far from home and with no public toilet within reach, she relieved herself in an alleyway.

"I had, that night, no other choice," she said.

When she was issued a fine for €140 ($205 Cdn), she decided to fight it. At the time, she says, there were dozens of public urinals in the city, but only a handful of public toilets. 

This discrepancy, she argued, was unfair to women, wheelchair users, and anyone else who pees sitting down. A judge disagreed, arguing she should have used a nearby urinal.

That fight made Piening Amsterdam’s face of “urination equality.” Nearly a decade on, city officials have announced they will install new public toilets — the kind you can use sitting down.

Join White Coat, Black Art for a chat about books that have made a difference to our health

Dr. Brian Goldman from the CBC Radio program and podcast White Coat, Black Art will host an event at the Hamilton Central Library on May 25.

Join him for a lively discussion with local personalities and members of the public about the health and wellness books that have made a difference to their physical or mental health.

Tickets are free but you have to register in advance. For more information, visit cbc.ca/whitecoat

How to make conversations with aging parents a little less awkward

As Canada's population ages, multiple generations find themselves talking with older loved ones about their future. (imtmphoto/Shutterstock)

Canada's population is rapidly aging. According to Statistics Canada data from 2021, the number of people 85 and older is expected to grow by three times in 2050.

Although discussing the needs and wishes of someone who is aging can be tricky, there are ways to mitigate some of the discomfort, both experts and caregivers say.

"They can be unwieldy," Megan Johnson, a caregiver to her aging father, said of these conversations.

"Sometimes they happen by sitting down and kind of hashing it out together at a table in a really direct way — like, what would you want in this scenario?"

From one warrior princess to another, Lucy Lawless explores life of Margaret Moth

Margaret Moth covered some of the world's most dangerous stories from eastern Europe to India, often pointing her camera right into the line of fire. (Joe Duran/Submitted by Films We Like)

A new documentary looks at the late photojournalist Margaret Moth's unflinching work as a war correspondent — even after a sniper's bullet shattered her jaw at the Siege of Sarajevo.

"She lost part of her tongue, her teeth, her beauty, her ability to speak, her standing in the world, potentially her career," said Lucy Lawless, director of Never Look Away, and star of '90s cult TV classic Xena: Warrior Princess.

Lawless told The Current's Matt Galloway that it was "an injury that would have killed a young marine." But Moth fought back, and went on to cover global conflict for years to come.

"That's kind of the lesson of Margaret … that she did so much when so much had been ripped away from her."