On March 15, 2022, I had the pleasure of presenting to the board for the Register of the Professional Archaeologists on the importance of salary transparency on job boards and the disenfranchisement caused by unpaid internships in the cultural resources management field. While creating my presentation I reached out to archaeologists via email and social media to learn how compensation transparency could have helped them make career choices in the past or how it would benefit them moving forward. I received a range of responses from archaeologists in different specialties, including the quote above.

Following my presentation the board voted to require compensation information and to not allow unpaid internships on their job board. As we continue to consider what equity looks like in the cultural resource field it is important that we consider the value in compensation transparency how it intersects with recruitment, retention, and retirement in the field.