When it comes to closing the gender wage gap, pay transparency laws get all the headlines. Salary ranges now appear on job postings, politicians debate about whether transparency helps or hurts workers, and – occasionally – social media posts highlighting employers with absurdly wide bands go viral.

It’s the policy everyone’s talking about. And many hold it up as the best way to close the gender pay gap, which according to HR.software, stands at approximately 13% in the EU, 17% in the US, and 15% in Canada, with wider gaps in Asia, the Middle East. (Africa and Latin American also report gaps, but limited comparable data makes reporting difficult.)

The Quieter Cousin: Salary History Bans

But there’s a quieter revolution happening – spurred by a policy that may actually be more powerful at dismantling pay inequality, albeit one that flies under the radar when compared to transparency or representation policies.

If you’re a woman of a certain age (or living in a certain location), you’ve likely been asked on a job application or in an interview to disclose your salary history. And whether you realized it or not, this question is that may have compounded pay discrimination throughout your career.

The Compounding Problem

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about how salary history disclosure perpetuates pay inequity:

A woman starts her career earning 5% less than her male counterpart – perhaps due to a weaker negotiation, a bias in the initial offer, or because she was underpaid in an internship that became the baseline for her first “real” job.

Every subsequent employer asks, “What did you make in your last position?” and uses that number as an anchor. That initial 5% gap becomes 8%, then 12%, and so on. By mid-career, she’s still paying the price for that first lowball offer.

Breaking the Inequity Cycle

Pay history bans break that cycle at its source by prohibiting a potential employer from requiring a candidate to divulge information about past salary and wages. And unlike pay transparency laws or representation targets, the compliance required for this policy ban is quite simple. It’s a matter of “don’t ask, don’t use.”

By eliminating the question of pay history, women are no longer anchoring future earnings to past wages. It also negates the “caretaker penalty” for taking time out of the workforce or being a woman in an industry with persistent pay gaps.

Where the World Stands

Here’s how the growing trend of restricting questions on pay history is evolving:

  • Leading the Way: In the EU, a major law that took effect in June 2023 explicitly bans employers from asking about salary history during recruitment. This comprehensive, continent-wide mandate that affects all EU member states, who must implement the directive into their national laws by June 2026.
  • Patchwork of Progress: In the US, as of April 2025 it was illegal to inquire about past salary and wages in 22 states and dozens of cities. That list is expected to grow as a byproduct of grassroots movements pushing broader pay transparency bills.
  • Onward Ontario: The province of Ontario has led the way on this policy in Canada, enacting a 2022 sweeping pay transparency law that included restricting questions on salary history or expectations.
  • Elsewhere: In other parts of the world, laws and policies surrounding this quiet – yet consequential – question are varied.

What This Means For Your Career

For women in print, who want the flexibility to explore jobs in different segments of the industry, the upward mobility to grow into new roles, or even the opportunity to seek jobs in new cities or even foreign countries, knowing where you can and can’t be asked about past salary history isn’t just helpful information. Use the resources cited above to keep up with laws and policies as they change.

It’s potentially worth thousands of dollars over the course of your career.

What This Means For Employers

For CEOs/presidents, owners, and HR leaders in the print industry, staying on top of salary history bans not only ensures compliance, it makes you more competitive in hiring. Companies that stop asking the question – even before they’re legally required to – demonstrate an authentic commitment to pay equity. That matters to the talent you want to hire, particularly Gen Z workers critical to your pipeline.

As these laws spread across states, provinces, and countries, now’s the time to review your application forms and train your hiring teams. Build compensation offers around the role and print industry market rates, not what someone made in their last job. It’s fairer, and it keeps you ahead of the curve.