[onetwotree]

1 ) Banning past salary inquiries allows more rapid increases in salary, thus accelerating a trend induced by other factors of a shrinking gender gap. This is also why you should always refuse to reveal your past salary.

2 ) Assertive behavior like refusing to reveal past salary is viewed (consciously or unconsciously) as a positive trait in men and a negative one in women. This puts women at a disadvantage during salary negotiations generally, and specifically when asked to provide information that will prevent them from entering a position with a higher salary.

[gozur88]

We'll see if that's the actual effect in practice. Young professional women make more money than their male counterparts. If they're not as good at negotiating as their male counterparts, this may negate their only advantage.

[lovich]

Out of curiosity do you have statistics for that? The female professionals I know make far less than the males, but as I'm in software I know about 10 men for every woman so it's not really a population size large enough to base conclusions off of

[angmarsbane]

This will also help anyone who wants to transition from the non-profit world where salaries are much lower.