We've recognized, over time, that sharing our ideas and even our fears with trusted friends and family only builds our understanding and makes our lives better. These days, it's okay to talk about the troubles we're having with our children or even our marriages. We can talk about race, religion, identity, etc., outside of work.

随着时间的推移，我们发现，当与知心好友以及家人分享个人的想法甚至表达自己的恐惧能够增进彼此的理解，还能让我们的生活更快乐。到了如今，谈论与孩子甚至是伴侣之间的矛盾也能为大众所接受。工作之余，我们会谈论种族，信仰，身份等等。

But, do we talk with each other about our salaries?

但是，我们要谈论彼此的薪资水平吗?

Oh goodness, absolutely not.

噢，天啊，绝对不行。

That's way too personal, and it's a conversation fraught¹ with danger. But, what if this is a mistake? There may be some real upsides to loosening up our conversations about money.

这样做太涉及个人隐私了，而且这会是一次令人担忧的对话。但若这是一个错误呢?也许会有一些真正的好处来缓和谈论金钱时的紧张感。

Let's take a closer look at this issue to determine if we should be discussing our earnings² with friends and family members. There are a number of things to keep in mind that can help you decide what's best for you.

让我们来仔细瞧瞧这个话题，再确定我们是否应该与亲友讨论我们赚了多少钱。谨记下面的几件事情，可以帮助你选择一种最适合自己的方法。

1. The salary transparency debate is really heating up right now.

1. 如今关于薪资透明度的讨论真的非常热门。

We're really just beginning to understand the tremendous value of pay transparency for businesses. Employers need to open up about how compensation is determined³ in order for employees to feel confident that they're being paid fairly. Salary transparency at work can be a powerful tool that supports job satisfaction and employee retention⁴.

我们真的只是刚刚开始了解这种薪资透明度的巨大商业价值。雇主们应该主动开口表达薪资报酬是如何计算的，为了让员工们对自己能受到公平的薪资对待而感到自信。商业场合的薪资透明度会是支撑职业满意度与员工留任的重要工具。

PayScale data shows that the most common reason people leave their job is because of pay; however, 55% of respondents who felt that they were being underpaid actually were not. Employers would be wise to consider heightening the transparency of their compensation practices, but this is a choice most of us don't have much control over.

PayScale的数据显示，人们辞职的最主要原因就是薪水问题，然而，有55%认为薪资不公平的受访者，他们的实际情况并非如此。雇主在考虑加强薪酬惯例透明度时应该更加明智，但这是个我们大部分人不能过多干预的决定。

However, some folks are sharing information about earnings with co-workers. This is another way to go about improving pay transparency in your workplace. It's a bold move, so consider carefully before taking action.

然而，有的朋友确实在跟同事分享他们的收入情况。这也是另外一个加大职场薪资透明度的方法。这是一个非常大胆的举措，所以要在确定前谨慎考虑。

2. Salary transparency, between coworkers and between friends and family, is ultimately about helping⁵ to right the gender⁶ pay gap.

2.同事，家人朋友之间的薪水透明度，终将涉及到拉近性别薪水差距。

Pay transparency helps workers understand their earnings in relation to the salaries of their peers. This helps to eliminate unfair or biased⁷ compensation practices as the discrepancies⁸ are brought to light and therefore end up being addressed.

薪资透明度能够帮助员工了解自己的薪水与同事的薪水之间的关系。这样会有助减少不公平或差别薪资对待，因为这种差别已暴露于人前，所以最后就会被拿出来讨论。

While sharing financial info with non-co-workers won't have the same immediate⁹ effect, it can help you get a better sense of whether you're being paid fairly. (Although, for unbiased data with the honesty of anonymity¹⁰, you're still better off to go straight to PayScale's Salary Survey and compare apples to apples.)

但是当你与同事以外的人分享经济状况时，就无法得到同样立即有效的效果了，但能给你更好地了解自己是否受到公平的薪资对待。(尽管如此，为了了解匿名受访者的无偏差数据，你最好还是直接参考PayScale等薪资调查组织所公布的数据进行多方面对比。)

The gender pay gap exists, at least in part, because it's allowed to exist. Openly sharing our financial truth with one another, both inside and outside of the office, is one of the best weapons we have against it.

性别薪资待遇差距一直存在，但至少在某种程度上，因为那是允许存在的。开放地与他人分享我们的经济状况，无论在职场内外，都是我们用以抵挡性别薪资差距的最强有力的武器之一。

3. There is so much we can learn from talking with the people we love and trust most.

3. 与我们爱的，信任的人交谈，我们能从他们身上学到很多。

The thing about sharing our salaries with friends and family members is that the conversation often doesn't just stop there. Maybe it's because we've been figuratively sitting on our hands for so long when it comes to discussions of pay -- once we start, we just keep going.

一旦开始与亲友讨论薪资问题，这个话匣子就关不上了。也许是因为我们曾经长时间无所事事，但当讨论到薪资问题——开始了就停不下来。

Pretty soon, we're telling our whole earnings history, sharing stories and tips for negotiating salary, and discussing how our organization handles the transparency issue. We can learn so much from the people who we love and trust the most. If we open up to our most trusted companions about this area of our life, it's likely to help us make improvements.

很快地，我们就会把自己的薪水经历和盘托出，然后分享彼此的故事还有谈判薪资的技巧，以及讨论各自所在的公司是如何对待薪资透明度问题的。我们能从这些我们爱与新人的人身上学到太多了。如果我们对最信任的同伴敞开心扉谈论这方面的事情，那么我们双方都会获得进步。

4. Speak carefully, and speak for yourself.

4. 小心地说，为自己说。

The truth is that discussions of money in our culture need to be handled delicately, even with our closest friends and sometimes even with our family members. Maybe it's because our society puts so much emphasis on money; our identities are more tied to our financial worth than they should be. We worry about the reactions others will have when we tell them what we make. So, if you do decide to talk about your earnings with your peers, do so thoughtfully and strategically. Be sure to think the decision through.

实际上，关于金钱的讨论在我们的文化里要处理得小心谨慎，即使对方是我们最亲近的朋友甚至偶尔一起讨论的家庭成员。也许是因为我们的社会把金钱看得太重了，所以我们的身份地位就更倾向于与经济价值挂钩，而不是实际的情况。我们都担心当告诉他们自己的薪水状况时他们会有什么反应。所以，如果你真的确定要与同伴们谈论薪资，那就体贴地有技巧地说。把这个决定从头到尾考量一遍。

Once you have shared your earnings, don't necessarily expect to get the same information in return. Although being open about pay might be good for us, it's a personal choice. Don't share what you earn because you want someone to return the favor. Leave that decision to them.

当你与他人分享了自己的薪资状况，也没有必要希望对方反馈同样的信息。尽管你们都认为丰厚的薪水对我们有好处，但这只是个人的选择。不要因为希望对方也能同样分享信息而说出自己的状况了。让对方自己决定吧。