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WITI WEALTH
Salary Negotiations
When I was in high school, Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, changed my life. Having read it, I had an increased awareness and concern about our rights as women but, at the time, I was thinking about personal rights, not financial rights.It wasn’t until much later, after my divorce, when I realized I didn’t really know much about money. At the time I couldn’t find any to help me who wasn’t paid on commission and I was concerned about the conflict of interest that that brought up . It was then that I decided to dedicate my work the supporting women in their financial understanding. When my co-author Mary Moses and I wrote our first book, No More Baglady Blues, it was the first book by women for women on the topic of retirement planning. One of the primary reasons women need to plan for retirement is that historically we have earned less than our male counterparts. A recent article in the New York Times shows that some progress has been made. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy (Policy?) Research, women now earn about 77 cents for every dollar that men earn annually which is up from about 59 cents in 1965. When you realize that these women tend to be more educated, on average, than working men, the statistics reflect a troubling fact. Of course there are factors such as women leaving the workforce to raise children which means fewer years on the job and less experience. But you still have about 40% or 9.2 cents unexplained when various factors are considered according Ariane Hegewisch, a study director at the institute. Some research suggests that the gap can be due in part to the negotiation process for higher salaries. These are the suggestions offered in the New York Times article: Be Proactive If you believe you deserve a raise, take the initiative to begin negations. Many women tend to believe that others will notice their competence and commitment automatically, but that may not be the case. Anticipate the best time to negotiate; perhaps when you’re asked to take on a new responsibility or have received some acknowledgement from a customer. Be Prepared Doing your research pays off, literally. A study found that men and women who recently earned a master’s degree in business negotiated similar salaries when they had clear information about how much to ask for. Being a member of WITI provides a great opportunity for you to discuss comparable salaries with women all over the world. But remember to compare your salary to the salaries of men as well, or you might be selling yourself short. Tailor Negotiations A recent study offers some general guidelines. Frame your request in terms of why it makes sense for the organization or the person you’re trying to persuade to offer you a better deal, making the benefit to the company the focus of your request. Anticipate Try to envision what kinds of objections your boss may have, and think about what your response might be. My co-author many years ago gathered her friends to serve as an interview hiring board and posed a wide variety of questions when she was seeking a much different position. She reported that the actual interview was a breeze thanks to her preparation team. Be Creative If you have family responsibilities, it helps to consider alternatives like flexible work schedules. It’s your job to figure out and suggest new possibilities, not your boss’s. I handled the issue personally by starting my own business instead of working for someone else. Not everyone is so inclined. If you work for someone else and want to be paid well consider developing your negation skills and practice with friends before you meet with your boss. You’ll be in a much better position to negotiate the salary you deserve. NOTE: This will be my last article for WITI as I approach the one-year mark with my contributions. I have enjoyed sharing my ideas with you and hope you have found them entertaining and helpful. I wish you all much happiness and prosperity.
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