What to do when you’re paid less than your coworkers

Here's a number worth sitting with. When Glassdoor looked at its own pay in the 2024 Pay Equity Analysis, women earned about 20.8% less than men on average¹. That sounds alarming, until you compare people doing the same jobs, at the same levels, in the same places. Do that, and the gap almost vanishes: down to roughly 0.8%, which is basically no gap at all. In other words, most of that big headline number came from differences in role, level, and experience, not from paying people unfairly for the same work.

So the same logic applies to you and a coworker. A large pay difference often traces back to the job itself, not to unfair treatment, which means you need an apples-to-apples comparison before you decide you're underpaid. The catch is that a low starting salary can hold you below market for years, and ordinary percentage raises rarely close a gap that started wide. This article walks you through both jobs: confirming whether you're genuinely paid below market for equal work, and then fixing it.

Key takeaways

Why you might be paid less than your coworkers

Being paid less than a peer usually isn't a conspiracy. A few common, non-dramatic reasons explain most of it:

That last point is exactly why the Glassdoor pay equity finding matters: most of a 20.8% raw gap disappeared once the comparison accounted for title, level, tenure, and location. Before you act, get a like-for-like read on whether your pay is actually below market for equal work.

The picture also depends on where you work. As one Glassdoor Community member put it: "I would add that this happens more often in companies that know they have large salary discrepancies. I often find it gender related as well."

First, confirm you're actually underpaid

Detection is worth a quick, disciplined pass before you make your case. Keep it to three moves:

One caution: AI chatbots will confidently invent salary figures, so verify anything they tell you against real salary data. If you want the full checklist, our step-by-step guide on how to know if you're underpaid goes deeper on detection. This page is about what to do next.

If talking about pay feels taboo, that's often by design. As one Glassdoor Community member noted: "I don't think there is anything unprofessional about it at all. I think employers don't want us talking about it because they don't want any sort of salary transparency."

Ask for a salary correction, not a raise

Here's the core move, and it's where most people get the framing wrong. If you make $30,000 and a coworker in the same job makes $60,000, a 10% raise won't close the gap. Neither will a 20% raise. A percentage bump is calculated off your already-low base, so it keeps you behind. What you want instead is a salary correction: an adjustment that brings your pay in line with what the position is actually worth in the market.

Build the request around two things: your performance and your market data. Keep it professional. Make an appointment with your manager or human resources, acknowledge that the company took a chance on you early, and then lay out how you've grown into the role and now perform on par with or better than peers. Here's a copyable opening you can adapt:

"I've really grown into this role over the past year, and I'd like to talk about bringing my salary in line with the market rate for the work I'm doing. Based on my performance and current salary data for this position, I'd like to discuss a correction rather than a standard percentage raise."

Be reasonable about the outcome. You're aiming for a fair number, not an instant windfall, and people with more experience will still likely earn more than you. As one Glassdoor Community member said: "Agree, negotiation is very underestimated, I think a great salesman should not be afraid to even ask for a raise."

One common pitfall to avoid: don't build your case on 'Jordan makes more than me,' and don't reveal exactly how you learned a coworker's pay. Anchor the conversation on market data and your own contributions, not on a named colleague's paycheck.

Know your rights before you bring it up

Most private-sector employees have a legal right to discuss wages with coworkers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Employer policies that ban "salary talk" are generally unlawful, which means comparing notes with peers is usually protected, not punishable. That protection matters, because the information you gather from coworkers is often the clearest evidence that a gap exists.

Protect yourself anyway. Keep it practical: document your pay conversations and the dates they happened, so that if an employer retaliates, you have a record connecting the timeline. As one Glassdoor Community member advised: "Salary discussions are protected by law. It may sound overkill, but document any time you do discuss salary, so if the company tries to retaliate, you can show that your firing is linked to these discussions."

What to do if your employer won't fix the gap

Deserving a correction doesn't guarantee you'll get one. Your manager will hear you out and offer a small raise, a vague "we'll see," or nothing. The response tells you what kind of employer you're dealing with, so read it honestly.

A reasonable employer works with you. That can look like a phased correction over a couple of cycles, or a raise paired with a firm date to revisit the number. Be open to those offers, because a credible plan with a timeline is often fair.

Stonewalling is different. If the company won't move and won't commit to a timeline, it's telling you how much it values you. In that case, moving to a new role is frequently the fastest way to reset your pay to market. One Glassdoor Community member shared: "Leave. At a former role, I found out that I was being paid less than people who came in after me and who I trained. I was doing my job and the job or my absent supervisor's supervisor. HR didn't care, my manager couldn't do anything, I just got a better job." Don't let yourself stay stuck: if your employer won't value your experience, find one that will.

Comparing notes with other workers is one of the most reliable ways to figure out whether you're underpaid and what to do about it. Join the Glassdoor Community to compare pay, trade negotiation tactics, and get advice from people in your field. The Salary Negotiations bowl is where a lot of these compensation conversations happen.

Frequently asked questions

Can my employer fire me for discussing pay with coworkers?
Generally no. The National Labor Relations Act protects most private-sector employees who discuss wages with each other, and policies banning those conversations are usually unlawful.

Should I ask for a raise or a salary correction?
Ask for a correction. A standard raise is a percentage of your already-low base, while a correction targets the gap between your pay and the market rate for the role.

What should I do if my employer refuses to close the gap?
Push for a phased plan with a specific revisit date. If they refuse even that, benchmark your market rate and seriously consider moving to an employer that will pay it.

Is it normal to be paid less than newer hires?
Yes, and it has a name: pay compression, which happens when new hires come in at higher current market rates than tenured staff. It's a legitimate basis for requesting a correction.

Methodology

¹ Glassdoor Economic Research, "Glassdoor's 2024 Pay Equity Analysis," December 19, 2024. Based on demographic and payroll data for full-time Glassdoor employees as of July 25, 2024; adjusted pay gaps estimated via a linear regression of log pay on controls including title, department, level, tenure, and geography, evaluated at a 95% confidence level. Read the full analysis in Glassdoor's 2024 Pay Equity Analysis.