Our Policy: The 10x-challenge
Everyone knows there is persistent racial and gender bias in opportunity and income. The 10x challenge is a reform to address salary inequity in high-tech and business.
We first heard about the 10x challenge from the CEO of Zapier who is a bad-ass and super down-to-earth person. Our rates were following that model anyway, but then we had a name for it — and now you do too!
Photo by Leonardo Burgos on Unsplash
Want to do more than lip service to racial and gender equity? As Melinda Gates eloquently points out: “No matter who you are, you have a voice in shaping our society.”
This is a simple but powerful concept. Spread the word about the 10x challenge. Challenge every business owner you know to meet it.
What is the 10x challenge?
There are many methods to close an inequitable pay gap. The 10x challenge is only one of them.
Salary inequity is a very solvable problem. Research has shown that the gender pay gap has been slowly shrinking over the last decade, an in-depth analysis by LendEU showed a 2.14% decrease from 2010 to 2018 across all 50 US states.
The 10x challenge is a public commitment that no one at a company makes greater than 10x the lowest paid worker or contractor at that company. It’s an incredibly simple rule that immediately distinguishes equitable companies from inequitable ones.
Why is the 10x challenge cool?
Well for one, the 10x challenge can be legislated and might have a lot of potential to reduce inequity not only in the US, but abroad.
The heads of US companies often make over 1,000x the rate of the lowest-paid employee, and that doesn’t include outsourcing to other countries where the rates can be even lower. In contrast, Ben & Jerrie’s idealistic founders started at no greater than 5 to 1.
It turns out the 10x challenge is an easy fix for the complex problems of inequity in capitalist societies. High tech has traditionally been a At todreamalife, we’re really interested in it because we work on homelessness with the Empulse app. We believe the 10x challenge is a poetic solution to the problem of homelessness possibly caused by the make-or-break 10x returns required in tech hubs.
The 10x challenge conclusion
At todreamalife, we have adopted the 10x challenge, so noone — consultant, intern, or employee — works for free and even our expert consultants keep their wages proportionate to our apprentices.
#equity #todreamalife #diversity # inclusion #hightech
