“We are equal”: Woman’s sad salary discovery

A woman is going viral for sharing the moment she found out a co-worker is earning more than her and her shock at how much more.

An American woman has gone viral after finding out her new co-worker, who is doing the same job as her, is earning substantially more.

Creator Yaya Tizz, who has more than 14 million likes on TikTok, took to the social media app to express her horror at discovering her salary inequity.

“I just found out the person that was hired as like my equal in my department, so we co-lead the department, is getting paid $25,000 more than me,” she said.

Ms Tizz explained that her co-worker, who is earning $25,000 more in US dollars, equal to around $AU40,000, isn’t, from her perspective, doing any more work than her or has further responsibility.

“We have the same level of experience and we have the same job. We’re literally equal. We have one person we report to, and she’s getting paid $25,000 more than me,” she said.

Ms Tizz said that the woman who did the role previously was earning the exact same salary, but after she left her company, the salary was increased to be “competitive” and to find someone to fill the role quickly.

She shared her co-worker is earning more. Picture: TikTok/yayatizz

The clip amassed more than nine million views. Picture: TikTok/yayatizz

MORE: 5 signs your workplace is toxic – and what to do about it

The worker said that no one in the company approached her to “renegotiate” her salary, so now she and this new co-worker are both doing “equal amounts of work” for unequal pay.

Ms Tizz said when she made this discovery, she went straight to her direct supervisor and asked for a pay rise.

She also asked if there would be a structural reshuffle, and this woman who was now earning more than her would become her superior or take on more work, which would justify why she was paid more.

Ms Tizz claimed her supervisor said that wasn’t the case and agreed they were both “equal” but also said he wouldn’t be able to give her a $25,000 pay rise.

According to Miss Tizz she’s doing the same job for less. Picture: TikTok/yayatizz

She said she just wants to be paid fairly. Picture: TikTok/yayatizz

MORE: Aussie jobs over $150,000 revealed

Ms Tizz said he claimed the company wouldn’t be able to get her because $25,000 is a “really big increase”.

“I’m sorry I don’t even know how to process that,” she admitted.

Ms Tizz said it was unfair to be expected to do the same work and achieve the same results as someone earning substantially more than her.

The worker then claimed that her supervisor, although supportive in person, sent her a very “HR-framed” email saying they weren’t going to do anything about her “salary inequality” and that if she didn’t like it, she could “leave”.

It kicked off a big salary conversation. Picture: Istock

The worker’s online confession has now amassed more than nine million views and kicked off a big conversation about salaries and whether staying at a company pays quite literally.

Someone online said this was proof that “salary transparency is so important” while another pointed out this is exactly why employers “don’t want” employees discussing their salaries.

Another claimed Ms Tizz was paying a “loyalty tax”, and the only way to earn more was to job-hop because annual raises never match the market.

Someone else encouraged her to drop her workload by $25,000, and one said, “Unfortunately, you have to change jobs to get paid more.”

Another said that while $25,000 is a big increase in replacing Ms Tizz’s role, it would also be a big undertaking if she left over a salary dispute, but others were just encouraging the young worker to “quit” and find something with better pay.

One person said the same thing happened to her husband, but as soon as he resigned, they figured out how to match his salary. Another person said the exact same thing happened to her, but with a male co-worker.

Originally published as “We are equal”: Woman’s sad salary discovery