Women are still paid far less than men on average. Women make approximately 0.77 cents to every dollar a man makes, according to Time Magazine.
There are a lot of contributing factors to this problem, but one that a lot of people don’t focus on is how most women are losing out during the salary negotiation.
I ran across an extraordinarily interesting thread on Reddit today. The thread is by a person who performs the salary negotiations for a large multinational technology company.
“I regularly hire women for 65% to 75% of what males make,” the anonymous Redditor says. “I am sick of it.”
More from the thread:
“Our process, despite the pay gap, is identical for men and women. We start with phone interviews, and move into a personal and technical interview. Once a candidate passes both of those, we start salary negotiations. This is where the women seem to come in last.
The reason they don’t keep up, from where I sit, is simple. Often, a woman will enter the salary negotiation phase and I’ll tell them a number will be sent to them in a couple days. Usually we start around $45k for an entry level position. 50% to 60% of the women I interview simply take this offer. It’s insane, I already know I can get authorization for more if you simply refuse. Inversely, almost 90% of the men I interview immediately ask for more upon getting the offer.”
This problem continues to the counteroffer. Men will simply put out a higher number, while many women in this person’s experience don’t even put out a number, so the negotiator continues to lowball it.
You may say that this type of salary negotiation is unfair, but this is how markets work — two sides haggling over perceived value. The fundamental issue here is how women perceive and carry themselves during these negotiations and how often they ask for a raise.
This is an issue that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, a woman I deeply admire, has continually noticed. “Women systematically underestimate their own abilities,†Sandberg told an audience during her famous TED Women talk. 57% of men negotiate a higher salary for their first job out of college, while only 7% of women do the same.
Fighting this issue is not just about laws and regulations, but awareness and mindset. Tell that young college senior niece or daughter of yours that she is worth more and that she should be confident in demanding more. If a company doesn’t accept her terms, it’s their loss and not hers.
I’ve embedded Sheryl’s TED talk for good measure. Let me know what you think of the male-female salary gap issue in the comments.
Image courtesy of Flickr, GS+
This is easier said than done. I try to force myself to negotiate hard for a good salary (especially now that I feel like I’m worth more) but I still have no idea how my negotiation compares to what men (or other women, for that matter) are asking for.
I think I’m decent at negotiating the initial offer, but I always wonder if the men I work with are more aggressive in asking for raises. I don’t like conflict. I don’t want to threaten to walk, I want to be given a raise when/if management thinks I deserve it. And I want this process to be fair. Of course, it never its. It’s all about politics and knowing when to push and how hard to push. I wish a “man” could offer a class on how to negotiate — not only upon the first job offer — but also throughout your career. I have no idea how this works, and feel like an idiot every time I want or ask for more.
Try to find mentors in your industry who can coach you. I’ve had former colleagues and friends in my industry help me figure out what my salary range should be and how to negotiate.
You’ve hit the nail on the head. I said exactly the same thing in my blog post in March during International Women’s Month: http://theboommoment.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html
It’s funny that men know intrinsically that men should ask for more and women don’t.
truely… its also clear in my locality too…
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Freelance Developer
These types of issues often cause me to question the foundational assumptions that lead to these types of inequalities. Â Is it possible that the typical negotiative process is one that is at its core culturally masculine? Â That type of aggressive contentiousness as a precursor to an agreement may be one that puts women in our society at a disadvantage from the get-go. Â Certainly women can learn the behavioral repertoire that is required for a successful negotiation in this fashion, but wouldn’t the more effective and realistic adjustment be one where the process itself is changed? Â
Additionally, looking at this from the perspective of value to the business, are we absolutely certain that with this type of negotiative approach that the payroll savings is of greater benefit to the businesses  than the cost of systemically devaluing the work of women hired at lower rates than their male counterparts?  How significant is the value gained from a business with a more balanced gender perspective?  What impact to the corporate culture does paying women less create?  What value could a more balanced perspective provide to the business in approaching its opportunities and challenges with strategy, operations, and chemistry?  Is the trade-off worth it?
I’m all about changing the process, but in this context I think you’re wrong; by far the ‘more effective and realistic adjustment’ is for women to focus on building professional self-confidence. This is a simpler alternative to doing what you sugguest, i.e. throwing away the playing field and building a new one.Â
The problem as Sandberg articulates it is not that corporate culture is wholly to blame for devauling the work of women. Women can and should spend time cultivating their sense of self-worth. This will have benefits that go beyond the realm of wage equality – think: social policy, relatioship politics, etc.
Shouldn’t it be “77 cents” for every dollar a man makes … and no “0.77 cents” for every dollar?
From a woman’s perspective, I don’t know who these women are. I made more money than everyone(all being men) at my office in the same entry level position.
Go girl!
Women who negotiate are often perceived negatively–gender stereotyping. Thus, they don’t engage in it. As a coach/consultant to women physicians in this situation, I have found it difficult, but necessary, to press on and get paid your value.Â
Linda Brodsky, MD
President, Expediting the Inevitable
The fundamental issue is much deeper than “how women carry themselves.” Why do we carry ourselves that way? Women are constantly reminded their worth–less than men. Men are the bosses, and they are equally, if not more, at fault for the issue, since they are the ones making the salary decisions. This issue is isolated to the business world, where salary negotiation and asking for raises is a thing of actual possibility, also.
The real reasons for the pay gap is that women tend to choose lower-salary occupations…because that’s what our entire lives of ongoing socialization tells us to do. Women should be teachers and nurses, not doctors or executives. (Remember that less than 20 of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women!) We pretend that this mindset is a thing of the past, but it is not at all. Women also follow a broken career path due to having children, causing lower salaries. This also influences choice of career–as a teacher you have more time than money, but women need their time to raise children. We are what the social world around us makes us, and all of us have a hand in that.
I don’t believe it’s a matter of women underestimating their own abilities but rather fear of losing the offer. Women are incredibly smart and i’m sure they subconsciously take into consideration the psyche of the negotiator- they know that an offer rebuttal on par with most men would seem out of the ordinary because that’s not what the negotiator is accustomed to seeing- therefore essentially drawing attention for reasons females believe can cost them the position. It seems as if their focus is to just get the position as they know what they provide will eventually speak for itself warranting proper compensation. But, it shouldn’t be like that- the negotiator should rid of biased views which overtime will eradicate if women get over their fears and stand up!
Salary negociation differs from one company to another. I sincerely think that intercultural differences pay an important role here. I also believe that some women prefer to negociate the salary and accept the offer than risk asking too much and probably being refused.
I’d love to see an ethnic breakdown on salaries among women. I’m sure that cultural differences might play a factor and make some women (as well as some men) hesitant to speak up and negotiate for higher pay.
Salary negotiations are fast becoming a thing of the past. Most large companies, Govt. agencies and health care facilities have a corporate guide or mandate that insturucts HR people to what they “Shall” offer a new employee.