Perceptions of Pay Inequality: Unraveling a Tangled Web

Abstract

One spring morning, Brenda Becker, a long-term Instructor of Marketing at Union State University, appeared in Department Chairman John Forrester’s office to complain (again) about her salary and job conditions. Having learned of an upcoming pay increase program at the University, she was pressing Forrester to commit to upgrade her salary for the coming year. She recently discovered she was the lowest paid of three instructors and the lowest paid of the 13 faculty members in the Department (from a database web link in the local newspaper). Becker believed her experience and work record as a faculty member justified a sizable adjustment in her pay. In addition to her low pay, she related other complaints about her job situation, noting that her teaching load was too heavy, she was given little graduate assistant help with her large classes, and her funding for professional travel to development conferences was low compared to other faculty.
Though having a general knowledge of the issues, Forrester told her he would need to look further into the history of faculty pay in the Department. He also told her he would do what he could for her once the pay plan details were known. Later, following his review and analysis of the department salary history and performance ratings, Forrester was not entirely comfortable with what he found. When the details of the new salary increase program were announced, Forrester was further troubled about what he would do and how he would communicate to Becker.