Pay Equity – Let’s Level the ‘Paying Field’ (Part Three)  

In Part One and Part Two of this series I offered some real-life scenarios regarding the ‘Paying Field’ and how pay equality shifts over time. In Part Three, I offer some of the advice that I give my coaching clients to help them ‘Learn to Earn’.

My Advice – Analyze Your Output

In order to ask for the money you deserve you must be aware of the value you bring to the organization. And when I say organization, I’m not just referring to your workplace. All too often women are stuck doing all the jobs no one else wants to do. Sometimes it seems like we are left with the dirty work, even to the point of being taken advantage of. This can be detrimental. Women automatically assume responsibility and we’re training future generations of women to do this too. It’s important to learn to differentiate between a real need and a “let’s just have her do it” attitude.

Know the marketplace. What salary range are your skills going for out there? The only way to really understand your value is to work the numbers. Compare what the price tag is for the level of work you do.

My Advice – Value Your Work

Analyze, track and document the value you’re bringing to the organization. I have my clients keep a log of how their efforts have impacted the mission, vision and bottom line both at work and at home.

Every woman I know wears multiple hats. She’s a cook, cleaner, laundress, tutor, organizer, shopper, money manager, activities director, social secretary and vacation planner. She cares for children, spouse, parents, animals; she’s a nurse on call 24 hours as day. Women are unaware of all the jobs that they’re doing so well and just how valuable they are. If they tried to hire out all those jobs it would cost a fortune. The real challenge is getting women to see just how valuable they are. Maybe it’s time to become more self-aware.

My Advice – Accept Praise When It’s Offered

When a woman is complimented, the response is usually self-depreciating. If you say, “Oh, this food is delicious. You’re a great cook.” Her response? “Yeah, but you know I’m not a good baker.” I don’t remember mentioning baking! If you say, “Great job on the project,” she’ll respond with, “My team did the heavy lifting.” I was complimenting her, and she totally sidestepped to shine the light on the team. (For more on this topic read my post on the positive aspects of office politics.)

My Advice – Focus on What You Are Good At

Listen to that little voice inside your head that negates a compliment. Bite your tongue, smile and say, “Thank you.”

Our focus is almost always on what we’re not as good at and it’s holding us back. Instead of saying, “I’m excellent at doing this, this, this and this, and that is why I should make more money,” women tend to focus on what they’re not excelling at. They’ll say, “Well you know, I’m not really that good at this and this and this.”

Don’t volunteer negative information about yourself. I prepare my clients to respond positively to negative comments they might receive by saying, “I’m not sure about that but I know I excel in these areas.” Then, list two or three of your strongest value driven, bottom line impacting skills.

My Advice – Throw Your Hat in the Ring More Often

A study was conducted about gender differences in responding to job descriptions.  For example, there are ten key attributes of the job. Men might only have three of them, and they will hone in on those three things and apply for the job. On the other hand, women will look at the same job description, see the three things that they don’t have, and they don’t apply for the job.

When clients come to me disenchanted with their ability to move forward in their careers, I ask them about their application process. Invariably they tell me they are missing qualifications for the desired jobs, even if they have seven of the requirements. These clients are C-Suite women and they still feel they need a 10 out of 10. In my experience, 99% of the time when they put themselves forward with seven out of the ten requirements, these women get the job.

My Advice – Negotiate on Your Own Behalf

“Get out of your own head. Let the other party weigh in and have an opportunity to tell you what they are thinking.  Put yourself out there. Don’t take yourself out of the running. Let them take you out of the running.” This is a mindset issue, not a competence thing at all.

Negotiation is a skill that will pay off in all areas of a woman’s life, not just at work. It’s such an important topic that I am dedicating an entire month to it. (Stay tuned for it in July 2018) The differential in pay equity over the course of a woman’s career is significant. If they started working at age 25 and retired at 65, they leave about half a million dollars on the table. That comes out to about $12,500 a year. I don’t know about you but I can think of a lot of things that I can do with an additional $12,500 a year, or a half a million at the end of my career.

Learn as much as possible about negotiation. The investment of time, effort and money will put cash in your pocket for the rest of your life.

My Advice – Consider the Long Term Impact

The impact of not having pay equity is substantial. Not asking for what you’re worth and not earning what you’re worth could have a devastating impact on your spending power in the short term as well as your long-term financial security. If women were to think about pay equity outside of themselves, and realize that they may be putting their families at risk, they’d do something about it. I think they would pay more attention to this as an issue and we might have more traction behind it.

It’s time to learn new solutions and strategies for getting the money you deserve and leveling that ‘Paying Field.’ Check out my Focus Forward interview, LinkedIn article, Power Tips and Social Media posts about Pay Equity. I offer lots of valuable information that you could use to get paid what you deserve. If you’re still not getting the results you want, please Contact Me.

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