John Davies of GreenBiz shares his latest findings on compensation, pay equity and how you can increase your value — and your salary. 1. How does my role impact the salary I earn?Managers in sustainability careers make anywhere from $50,000 to $280,000 a year. The longer you’ve been at your job, the more you make. But what are the other factors?Your responsibilities, particularly the number of people and projects you manage, have an outsized impact on salary. Already working in sustainability but wishing for a bigger paycheck? When people switch organizations, they often do so for a raise. (But don’t overlook your ability to use a job offer to negotiate for better pay where you already work.) When it comes to compensation, most master’s degrees don’t seem to make much of a difference. But in corporate sustainability jobs, having an MBA could. About a third of managers, directors and vice presidents have MBAs. 2. How diverse are green jobs? How does diversity relate to compensation? The number of women in sustainability leadership roles has increased close to 20 percentage points in every category since 2010.Corporate sustainability jobs have almost achieved gender pay equity. On average, women make a few thousand dollars less than their male counterparts. Increasingly, companies are hiring from outside, not simply promoting from within. This gives organizations access to more people. For organizations that are intentional about it, access to a wider pool of candidates can increase diversity. But the profession has a long way to go. When it comes to racial diversity, the numbers are stark: 77 percent of managers identify as white or Caucasian. To help solve this problem, GreenBiz is launching Greenbiz.org. It’s a nonprofit designed to bring more BIPOC candidates into the profession. 3. A listener asks: “Having a passion for sustainability used to be a unique quality that would get you over that edge for a job, but that’s not so true anymore. How do I show my unique value?” John’s advice:Don’t wait for a sustainability job title to take action. Work within your current role to bring sustainability to your workplace.Identify your organization’s sustainability “problem areas.” What are your ideas for solving them? Where can you improve circularity? Share your strategies with management and get to work where you are. Then, when you are ready to switch organizations, you’ll be able to show off your real-work outcomes. Learn more:Stay up-to-date with the latest news in sustainability and business with GreenBiz:Read the latest State of the Profession ReportWatch webcasts on Women in SustainabilityFor more in increasing diversity in green jobs, visit GreenBiz.org Visit our Green Jobs Hub for job-hunting resources and listings and more links to information about salary and diversity in green careers. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related