Let's close this gender pay gap

If you caught my last post on being single and independent at 34, a natural question to ask may be around my financial situation. 

While I don’t advocate one’s life goals to be purely based on financial success, being able to navigate with financial freedom allows one to enjoy hobbies and make decisions without asking mom or dad (or a partner) for extra cash. 

Many women I came across in New York City attended regular Soul Cycle classes at $34 a session and had no savings. Meanwhile, some of their employers offered 401(k) matching! There are basic financial goals every person should set for themselves.

Then there's the gender pay gap. Women currently earn roughly 79 cents for every dollar a man makes. This is partially due to the jobs women hold, which relates to issues around women's career advancement generally, but it also highlights the fact that women can do more to maximize the earning potential of their current role. 

Let’s talk about actionable steps you can take to earn more:

Know your value

• Don’t feel bad talking to friends, colleagues, and mentors to understand what you should be making in your role. There are websites like Glassdoor that will offer additional visibility.
• Talk to recruiters. It’s not a bad idea to have a pulse on the job market and know what other employers are paying. Additionally, depending on how hard you want to negotiate having a second job lined up allows for the ultimate negotiation tactic as you can walk away if they won’t meet your ask. Having another job lined up will also instill confidence in your value so it is highly recommended you try this approach when asking for a big increase.
• Know that you are likely undervaluing yourself in an application process versus your male counterpart. Women tend to apply to jobs they are overqualified for whereas male counterparts often apply to roles they are only partially qualified for. An HBR article points out that this isn’t likely due to lack of confidence but more perception around the hiring process and women following socialized rules more closely than their counterpart.

Prepare for the conversation

• Preparation is everything. Especially when walking into an uncomfortable setting such as letting someone go for the first time or giving a large presentation.
• Know what you want to say, and how you want to deliver it. Know your talking points and asks and practice and roleplay in advance.

Show me the money

• Negotiate new offers before you accept. There is typically wiggle room. Whether it be a signing or relocation bonus, a higher base, or a higher bonus structure or equity ownership.
• Ask for that raise once you’ve demonstrated competence and feel it’s deserved. Know examples that added real ROI to the bottom line of the business.
• Apply for the promotion. Be proactive in having conversations around growing your career to the next level.

Don’t let fear of rejection stop you

• This is a tough one but know that if you don’t push boundaries that you aren’t putting yourself in a position to grow or be as successful as you could be otherwise.
• Think of it this way. If you never hear no, you’re not at your boundary. You can grow and learn from no. You just have to want to try.

It’s not all about maximizing compensation

• In some ways women seem better equipped to make decisions for longevity than men such as in seeing a doctor more regularly. Maybe it’s the nurturer in us. A short term gain in earnings may not be worth it when you look at the larger picture.
• I bring this up because while we want to close the pay gap we don’t want to overlook critical factors in our work environment. Company culture. The people you work with. Your manager. The role.

Keep in mind your employer invests substantial resources into hiring, onboarding, and retaining talent. I don’t bring this up to propose that you leverage this against them, but to make you feel more confident in the conversation and ask. You are valuable and should not feel bad negotiating for yourself.

I have spoken to employers and recruiters who have told me that they reserve funds in anticipation of a negotiation for new hires. If you don’t ask, they will just pay you less. 

Money isn’t everything. Over the course of my career I have moved into lower paying roles upon realizing I wanted a change of environment and/or function. I often ended up making more and growing my skills through these transitions and eagerly await my next negotiation. 

Find out what you want to do. And then get paid for it. Listen in for more actionable tips and insight here.

Be Independent,

Natalie

This article was originally written for Shesindependent.com

Check out our Negotiation Course here.

About Natalie Levy

Passionate about pushing boundaries and being independent from a young age, she holds a BSE of Industrial Engineering and minor in Mathematics graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Michigan. She has held roles in derivatives trading at Citigroup, enterprise data sales and operations at numerous technology businesses including Bloomberg and early stage ventures. She led business development efforts for private equity investor Turn/River Capital which was focused around SaaS optimizations and has made a handful of angel investments. She currently resides in Denver with her loving rescue pup Bina and runs revenues in a fractional capacity for several growth tech businesses. Through She's Independent, Natalie offers coaching and mentorship from professional confidence and salary negotiation to business strategy, including go-to-market and fundraising.

Following the loss of her mother to suicide in January 2019, Natalie launched She's Independent while she transitioned from corporate roles to a more entrepreneurial and balanced lifestyle. She grew through the loss and continues on her healing journey to discover what is authentically aligned and enjoys tapping into her professional superpowers that also highlight self-awareness and personal growth.