Money Facts You Should Know About The Gender Pay Gap 
 
Do women make less money? They sure do. Let’s gather our facts together here. We’re not even going to consider part-time work—that would make the gender pay gap look even bleaker! Comparing full time working women with full time working men, we find that the women are paid 80 cents (78 cents in some studies) for every dollar men are paid even in the same occupations. Are you content with this? Are you going to be a good girl and say, “Thank you for the diminished returns?” Are you going to say, “But what can I do? I need this job. I want them to like me.” Or, are you going to begin making sure this no longer happens to you? I see it as my privilege to tell you two strategies that have worked for women in our WomensMedia network.
 
Negotiation Is Part Of A Smart Game:  You Need To Ask, Ask, Ask.
First off, women aren’t asking for raises and other perks as often as men. Some studies show men ask 8 times as often for all sorts of things. Things you’d like to have—a bigger office, seminars, an assistant, an executive coach, heck, even a driver—well, maybe not all of those. I’ve talked about this in Women Need To Ask. And then on top of that, you’re not negotiating raises as often as men. When you’re given a raise, that’s the starting point for negotiations—that’s not “all they thought you were worth.”  Negotiating shows you have business savvy. Negotiating is a game you can learn to enjoy as much as the guys do. If you’d like a script to help you prepare to ask for a raise, see my post How To Ask For A Raise Even Though It’s Not The Perfect Time (It never is!).
 
Be That Woman Who Is Ready For A Promotion
Next, you need to make sure your boss doesn’t decide “She’s not quite ready to be promoted.”  This is happening to women in huge numbers. It doesn’t matter if your boss is a man or a woman, if you don’t sound confident in your review, you’re Not Quite Ready. I know you’re probably thinking during your review that you should be 100% honest about how you feel. That kind of honesty is doing you a disservice! The problem is men don’t think this way and you’re probably being compared against the male standard or compared with a male colleague. A guy is thinking, “I’ve got to sound 100% confident—no vulnerability here—I’ll find out how to do the job later.”  I’ve been advising women:  If you’re 80% confident, act as if you’re 100% confident, because you know you can ask questions and figure things out later.
 
I cover the other reasons for the gender pay gap:  The Pink Ghetto Thing, Working Mommies, and the Profit Thing in my post, 80 Cents For Each Dollar A Man Makes Is Not OK!
 
Good News—Follow California’s Lead!
There is promising news out of California that women’s wages are increasing and the gender pay gap is narrowing in that state. This gain is attributed to: 
 

• More women are moving into the financial services field which had been male-dominated,
  
• Many women are working in the healthcare industry which is seeing growth,
  
• And many women are beginning to speak up for what they know they’re worth.
  

My goal is to show you the facts, give you solutions, and let you change the business climate for yourself and other women.  Are you willing to work on this problem? If so, begin using the following two tips and mention them to other women. You can be part of the solution!
 
Tip #1:  Ask for a raise and then negotiate it up. While you’re at it, ask your boss to throw in something extra like, oh, let’s say that conference next month in a sunny location.
 
Tip #2:  Don’t allow yourself to look Not Quite Ready for a promotion. Act as if you’re 100% confident. You can use my quote as a mantra:
 
            Act confident and the world will take you at your estimation.
 
 
Further Reading:
 

Podcast (always less than 10 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, Women Need To Ask At 3 Levels  —Learn To Ask And Appreciate or read it here.
 
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, More Money? Do You Want To Ask For A Raise? —How To Ask For A Raise Even Though It’s Not The Perfect Time (It never is!)
 
Website, WomensMedia, by Evelyn Murphy, with E.J. Graff,  Gender Wage Gap: Are you paid as much as a man if he had your job?

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