How to Prevent Gender Backlash While Negotiating as a Woman

What's the worst that can happen if you negotiate as a woman in the workplace??

Getting escorted out by building security is probably NOT something you'd have imagined, but that's exactly what happened to Kathryn Valentine of Worthmore Strategies.?

But she didn't stop there.?

Kathryn turned her "epic fail," a crash course in gender backlash into a thriving consultancy where she now helps companies retain female talent through negotiation training.?

Companies like JP Morgan, KPMG, and TIAA hire her to train their women employees to negotiate for a more satisfying career where they are.?

In this eye-opening conversation, Kathryn shares her wealth of practical, research-backed knowledge including:?

• Why conventional negotiation advice fails most women?
• What relational ask is and the two components that make it compelling?
• The 4 step process for negotiating as a woman, while virtually eliminating gender backlash?
• How managers benefit when women learn how to negotiate effectively?
• What "toy coding" research teaches us about gender socialization and its impact on negotiation confidence?

Get the full episode, transcript, and links to freebies to help you negotiate with more confidence HERE.

In the interview with Kathryn, we addressed the hard truth:

The growing body of research around women and negotiation is useful but not perfect.

Many research findings assume that women are one homogenous group of people, when we aren't.

We don't yet have enough academic research nor support in the workplace for women of color, nonbinary folks, the LGBTQIA+ community and other historically excluded groups.

What we do have are some sobering statistics.

• In 2022, Black women earned 70% as much as White men and Hispanic women earned only 65% as much, according to Pew Research Center.
• This year, Fortune reported that more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies are now led by women (a record high percentage), but "the numbers still stink."
• Only a handful of those companies are led by women of color.

What this tells us is that systemic oppression, patriarchy, racism and sexism are real obstacles for women of color in the workplace.

So how do we NOT use these facts against ourselves and still be effective in negotiating for the growth that we want?

This is the question I addressed in a podcast interview with my coach mentor Kara Loewentheil on Unf*ck Your Brain Podcast.

We discussed:

• How to NOT internalize disappointing facts, statistics and news in a way that erodes your negotiation confidence
• Neuroscience-backed techniques you can use to override unhelpful thought patterns, so you can be effective in negotiating at work
• Tips for creating openings for collaborative negotiations
• How to think about the conversation from both employer and employee perspective
• What I learned from being told "NO" when I asked for a raise, and how I ended up securing the raise anyways

Access the full episode and transcript HERE.

Please do share this episode with any woman in your network who wants to be inspired to negotiate using the best tools possible.