--- title: New Rules Will Make It Easier for Anyone to Negotiate Better Pay description: After a Massachusetts law took aim at the gender pay gap, workers get a chance to reset conversations about pay. authors: - name: Kristen Bahler role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/ bio: Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. Today, she leads Money's sponsored content channel and reader-favorite franchises like Best Places to Live and Best Places to Travel. education: Northeastern University, MA Journalism at_money_since: 2016 articles: 52 covers: - Career Advice - Banking - Business - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-bahler/ published: '2016-11-21T10:30:48.000Z' modified: '2016-11-21T10:30:48.000Z' section: Career Advice tags: - Careers - gender pay gap - negotiating salary - outlook 2017 - pay - Pay Equity - Workplace word_count: 324 canonical: https://money.com/rules-women-fair-salary-2017/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Co-workers observing the sunrise.](https://img.money.com/2016/11/161118_out_raise.jpg?crop=0px%2C160px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85) A crescendo of recent changes aimed at closing the gender wage gap has reshaped the compensation landscape for 2017. Massachusetts just made it illegal for in-state employers to ask about salary history—a question that tends to disadvantage anyone who has been historically underpaid—and the lawmaker who launched the bill says she’s heard from peers in other states looking to replicate her effort. New York City has already followed suit for municipal jobs, and a federal version of the rule is now in front of Congress. And at least 50 employers—including Apple, Hilton, and Visa—have signed the White House’s Equal Pay Pledge, promising to analyze company pay levels and review hiring processes to reduce bias. Use the new equal-pay efforts to reset the money talk at work. ### Ask for a revision Suspect you’re paid less than peers? Meet with your manager, says Marissa Peretz, of Silicon Beach Talent— and bring a list of accomplishments, in case your suspicions are true and you need to show you’re not underperforming. Peretz suggests starting with something like: “I overheard someone talking about their salary, and it sounds like I’m not being paid commensurate with my peers. Can we talk about why that is?” Tell your boss you appreciate the mentorship he or she offers and want to continue working together. Then come up with a solution. Maybe you’ll set up periodic goals and evaluations, with an agreed-upon salary bump for every benchmark that you hit. ### Reset your negotiations Looking for a new gig? It’s still legal for most employers to ask about your pay history (even in Massachusetts, where the law won’t take effect until 2018). Yet the attention given to the legal changes may give you more cover to duck the question. You don’t need to mention the new laws explicitly, says Alison Green, a workplace consultant. Instead, say something like, “I’ve always kept that confidential, but I’m seeking a range of X to Y,” she advises. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/rules-women-fair-salary-2017/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Career Advice", "item": "https://money.com/career-advice/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Salaries and Wages", "item": "https://money.com/salaries-and-wages/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "New Rules Will Make It Easier for Anyone to Negotiate Better Pay" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/rules-women-fair-salary-2017/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/rules-women-fair-salary-2017/", "name": "New Rules Will Make It Easier for Anyone to Negotiate Better Pay", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-11-21T10:30:48.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/rules-women-fair-salary-2017/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/rules-women-fair-salary-2017/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2016-11-21T10:30:48.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "New Rules Will Make It Easier for Anyone to Negotiate Better Pay", "articleSection": "Career Advice", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/11/161118_out_raise.jpg?crop=0px%2C160px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "161118_OUT_Raise" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kristen Bahler", "url": "https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kristen-bahler/#author", "description": "Kristen Bahler has spent more than a decade turning culture, work and consumer spending trends into conversation-driving stories. 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