Fair Pay: How to Get a Raise, Close the Wage Gap, and Build Stronger Businesses

Buckmaster, global compensation director at Nike, argues in his winning debut that America’s pay system is deeply broken. There’s no evil plan at work behind how pay is determined, Buckmaster writes, just business leaders who haven’t prioritized fair pay. Buckmaster discusses the deleterious effect of a low minimum wage (workers having to choose between paying for an education or their electric bill, for example) and writes that pretending that the free market will adjust appropriately on its own is a naive pipe dream. He also explores what the future could look like: greater pay transparency could help close the wage gap, and trade-offs (flex schedules, stock awards) that are a real benefit could be offered (instead of wispy appeals to personal meaning or a sense of pride in one’s work). Companies, he notes, must recognize the “outsize role they play in creating fair pay outcomes,” and he helpfully includes questions leaders should ask themselves (“How do we value jobs?” and “What do we mean by equal work?”). Buckmaster packs his work with insight, and delivers his message in a charming, funny tone: pay-design teams, for instance, are “the world’s least-interesting Illuminati.” This layperson’s guide will be a boon to anyone looking to understand the forces behind how that number got on their W-2. Agent: Laurie Abkemeier, DeFiore & Co. (June)