Equal Pay Strategy at Salesforce

Our Pay Philosophy

At Salesforce, we believe the business of business is improving the state of the world. As an extension of this belief, equality is one of our core values, and we strive to create a workplace that reflects society where all employees can feel seen, valued, and empowered. One of the most powerful examples of this is our ongoing commitment to pay fairness and equal pay. 

In 2015, we committed to investigating and eliminating any gender pay gaps among our workforce. We’ve continued to improve upon our processes and broaden the scope of our assessment to include gender globally, race, and ethnicity in the U.S., merit bonuses, and stock. To date, we’ve spent $16.2 million to ensure our global workforce is paid fairly.

But it’s not enough to address pay during compensation planning. We’re looking at every aspect of the employee journey to help level the playing field — from recruiting and hiring to promotions and ongoing employee success. 

There are many factors that contribute to pay inequality, including market fluctuations and M&A activity. Some are within our control and some aren’t, so we must continue to evaluate pay on an ongoing basis.

How We Do It

Our assessment analyzes our employee population based on objective factors that determine pay such as job function, level, and location. The assessment groups employees in comparable roles and analyzes compensation of a given group to determine where there are statistical differences across gender globally. Employees in the U.S. are assessed again based on race. We conduct our analysis and make adjustments as necessary after we complete planning for our annual merit program. 

In 2021, we expanded our assessment to include equity grants as part of our annual stock refresh program. As our first step in including equity, we looked at the distribution of stock awards to our eligible employees. 

Considerations for Race

We recognize that it’s not enough to focus on gender equality alone. We now evaluate pay disparities among gender, then we analyze pay disparities among race and ethnicity (in the U.S.). By focusing on different races and ethnicities, we can have a more complete picture of each employee and better address their unique needs. 

Currently, we have the most comprehensive data for gender globally and race in the U.S. While we don’t publicly report on race and ethnicity outside of the U.S. at this time, we are evaluating our strategy for the collection of such data globally.  

It’s More Than Just Pay

Equal pay will continue to be a critical part of our equality strategy, but we recognize that equal pay alone is not enough. We’re working to increase equality throughout the employee experience by introducing new and expanded programs, policies, and benefits to ensure that all employees feel valued and empowered to succeed.

To learn more about our equality efforts, please visit Equality.com.