A woman in New York recently claimed on social media that she applied for a job listing for her current position after her company posted the same position at a significantly higher salary.
Kimberly Nguyen, a 25-year-old user experience (UX) writer, shared in her now-viral series of tweets that she stumbled upon the job posting on LinkedIn, which advertised a salary range that was “$32k-$90k more than they currently pay me.”
Nguyen said on Tuesday that she discovered the discrepancy due to a salary transparency law recently enacted in New York, which requires companies to include a pay range in their job postings. While the law was intended to promote pay equity, it has also exposed unequal pay policies, as in Nguyen’s case.
“My company just listed on LinkedIn a job posting for what Iām currently doing (so weāre hiring another UX writer) and now thanks to salary transparency laws, I see that they intend to pay this person $32k-$90k more than they currently pay me, so I applied,” she tweeted.
My company just listed on LinkedIn a job posting for what Iām currently doing (so weāre hiring another UX writer) and now thanks to salary transparency laws, I see that they intend to pay this person $32k-$90k more than they currently pay me, so I applied.
ā Kimberly Nguyen (@knguyenpoetry) March 7, 2023
Nguyen, a Vietnamese American poet and essayist who published her first poetry book in October last year, tweeted that she responded to the posting by applying for her own job.Ā
In her tweets, Nguyen expressed frustration with her current employer’s performative “inclusion” efforts and a lack of resolution regarding her own underpayment.
“I have also been arguing for months about the pay inequity. I have told my managers multiple times that I know Iām being underpaid. I have gotten the runaround, and they know they can do this right now in a tough labor market,” she wrote.
I have also been arguing for months about the pay inequity. I have told my managers multiple times that I know Iām being underpaid. I have gotten the runaround, and they know they can do this right now in a tough labor market.
ā Kimberly Nguyen (@knguyenpoetry) March 7, 2023
“Iāve got some audacity too so I posted the link in the group chat of all of us underpaid UX writers and now weāve got an emergency meeting tomorrow to talk about it,” she continued.
Iāve got some audacity too so I posted the link in the group chat of all of us underpaid UX writers and now weāve got an emergency meeting tomorrow to talk about it
ā Kimberly Nguyen (@knguyenpoetry) March 8, 2023
The company then allegedly held an emergency meeting where she was told that the job listing was meant to be an internal posting.
“They’re saying it was an internal posting and wasn’t meant for anyone to apply to externally because public companies legally have to post jobs even if it’s an internal conversion…but that doesn’t solve the fact that someone internally is now still going to make $32k+ more???” she said.
They’re saying it was an internal posting and wasn’t meant for anyone to apply to externally because public companies legally have to post jobs even if it’s an internal conversion…but that doesn’t solve the fact that someone internally is now still going to make $32k+ more???
ā Kimberly Nguyen (@knguyenpoetry) March 8, 2023
However, instead of the companyās writers getting a raise, discussions on potential layoffs purportedly emerged, leading Nguyen to announce that she is now ālooking for UX writing roles preferably remote.ā
I’m officially announcing that I am looking for UX writing roles preferably remote, but I am currently located in New York City. Let me know if you have any leads.
ā Kimberly Nguyen (@knguyenpoetry) March 8, 2023
Nguyen’s initial tweet has received over 12.3 million views and 221,000 likes. Several Twitter users empathized with her and wrote about their own similar experiences by replying to her Twitter thread.
“I wish Iād thought of this. I inherited a line-managee in a re-org and learned they were paid substantially more than me,” one user wrote. “I was told they couldnāt adjust mid-year but they promised to sort it at bonus time. They did not fix it at bonus time.”
I wish Iād thought of this. I inherited a line-managee in a re-org and learned they were paid substantially more than me. I was told they couldnāt adjust mid-year but they promised to sort it at bonus time.
They did not fix it at bonus time.
ā Sharon O’Dea (@sharonodea) March 8, 2023
“Well done. More than 30 years ago I went through a similar situation as a female copy editor,” another user shared. “Lowest paid, highest performing on the news desk and the only female. Turned it into an almost successful union drive. Disgusting that companies keep pulling this crap.”
I’m just getting bombarded by notifications and things are getting lost, and it’s so hard to stay on top of it all.
ā Kimberly Nguyen (@knguyenpoetry) March 9, 2023
People have since been sending Nguyen job leads and supporting her other endeavors, such as her book āHere I Am Burn Me,ā which became No. 1 in Asian American poetry on Amazon.
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“Yāall have been selling me out everywhere: AWP, Amazon, my own website. I am so grateful to all of you supporting me through a really overwhelming time. I hope you love my poems as much as I loved writing them,” she tweeted to her supporters.
Yāall have been selling me out everywhere: AWP, Amazon, my own website. I am so grateful to all of you supporting me through a really overwhelming time. I hope you love my poems as much as I loved writing them. pic.twitter.com/BLrvckitMB
ā Kimberly Nguyen (@knguyenpoetry) March 12, 2023
In an interview with Buzzfeed after her tweets went viral, Nguyen said she did not expect the attention they garnered.
“I was just venting, and I didn’t expect there to be such a reaction to my venting. People complain on the internet all the time and it doesn’t go viral. I’m honestly really overwhelmed by all the attention.”
