#IWD2025: Let’s Stop Asking for Permission and Start Negotiating for Power

?? Permission is NOT a leadership strategy.

Yet, too many high-achieving women—EVEN in the C-Suite—are still waiting for it.

Permission to lead. Permission to take up space. Permission to negotiate for the resources, roles, and influence we deserve.

This International Women’s Day, it’s time to stop asking for permission and start negotiating for power.

The Silent Barrier Holding Women Back

Here’s a hard truth:

Women are taught to earn influence, while men are taught to negotiate for it.

Heck, even my own flagship negotiation for women program is called the E.A.R.N. Your Worth? Leaders Lab! (Stay tuned for a total revamp and renaming coming soon.)

This Silent Barrier is why you see brilliant, capable women in executive roles working harder, delivering more, proving themselves over and over again—while their male counterparts simply ask for what they want.?And get it.

Yet—women executives are still making less money. In 2025. Canadian Women’s Foundation stats show that women executives make about 56% less on average than men executives.

Not because men are more qualified. Not because they deserve it more. But because they were never taught to hesitate.

?? No waiting to be noticed.

?? No over-explaining their value.

?? No guilt in negotiating what’s required to lead at the highest level.

Meanwhile...How many times have you…

?? Taken on more responsibility without an official title change?

?? Justified why you deserve a raise instead of requiring it?

?? Waited for an invitation to the decision-making table rather than claiming your seat?

This isn’t just about salary negotiations.?

Every high-stakes leadership moment is a negotiation.

?? Your next promotion? That’s a negotiation.

?? Your team’s budget? Also a negotiation.

?? The way you position yourself as a thought leader? Again—negotiation.

And if you’re not intentionally negotiating for power, someone else is.

Negotiation by Design?: A New Approach for Women Leaders

Most women have been given the wrong playbook for negotiation—one built for a system that wasn’t designed for us.

Confident negotiation based on your Human Design Blueprint is THE most effective way to negotiate in a room dominated by men.?

That’s why I teach Negotiation by Design?, a method that:

? Helps you lead and influence authentically—without trying to fit into outdated leadership models.

? Allows you to negotiate and influence beyond salary—so you claim the visibility, voice, and decision-making authority you deserve.

? Shifts you from justifying your worth to positioning yourself as non-negotiable.

3 Power Moves to Negotiate Without Apology

?? 1. Stop Justifying, Start Positioning You don’t need to prove why you deserve the raise, the seat at the table, or the decision-making power.

Position yourself as the obvious choice—so that when you negotiate, it’s not an ask but an expectation.

?? 2. Redefine Negotiation as Everyday Influence Negotiation doesn’t just happen in formal conversations. It happens every single day—in meetings, in leadership discussions, in the way you set boundaries and expectations.

Start seeing every interaction as an opportunity to shift the power dynamic.

?? 3. Require What You Need to Succeed Men don’t ask for what they need—they require it.

3 Power Phrases

This IWD, commit to eliminating “Would it be okay if…?” from your vocabulary.

Try this instead:

? “This is what I need in order to lead effectively.”

? “I will move forward once these elements are in place.”

? “Here’s what’s required for success.”

Final Thought: It’s Time to Negotiate at the Level of Your Leadership

You’ve already proven yourself.

You’ve already earned your seat.

Now, it’s TIME to negotiate for power—without apology, without permission, and without limits.

?? What’s the boldest negotiation move you’ve ever made??

Share in the comments so we can amplify each other’s wins.

_____________________

Sources & Research:

?? McKinsey Global Institute – “Tough Trade-offs: How Time and Career Choices Shape the Gender Pay Gap”

?? Harvard Business Review – "Why Women Don’t Negotiate for Themselves"

?? National Bureau of Economic Research – “Gender Differences in Negotiation: Causes and Consequences”