I was asked to interview for a role. In the conversation the role was very different from the advert but it still seemed somewhat interesting. He then asked for salary expectations and I asked if there was an approved salary band. He said no but his gut feeling was X-X. I said they are in line with what I was looking for but am flexible at the moment. He said he’d get back by the end of the week with an update. Almost a week and a half after he said he’d get back he emailed saying they wouldn’t move forward with my application because they couldn’t meet salary expectations. I replied with my confusion based on our conversation and never heard back. This was a very unfortunate equity issue. As a female I am statistically less likely to negotiate and ask for higher compensation. I will be even more hesitant to ask for what I feel is an honest market value due to situations like this.