Women Earning Less Than Men?
Comments:7
ARE WOMEN STILL EARNING LESS THAN MEN?
Being a woman, you can imagine how I felt when I recently read an article stating that women are STILL earning 12% less than a man in a comparable position. This is an important issue because at some point in our lives, 80-90% of all women will be solely responsible for their own finances, whether it be because of divorce, death, disability of a spouse, or just deciding to remain single.
Sure, sometimes, depending on where you work, might contribute to the “good old boys club” or gender discrimination theory. But after reading on, I found that some of what the author was saying to be true, we may be responsible for adding to this dilemma. The question is: Are we UnderEarners?
If you haven’t had a raise in over 2 years and don’t want to ask for one for fear of “rocking the boat”, you may be an underearner.
If you have a hard time telling your clients you are raising your fees, or consistently underbill them, you may be an underearner.
If you don’t market yourself, or “toot your own horn” either within the place you work, or with networks outside of work, you may be an underearner.
If you put so much time into volunteer activities that you just feel lucky to be employed and content to remain where you are financially, you may be an underearner.
Some of this sounds like you, so, what do we do, you ask?
1- Identify your financial needs, have a clear picture of what you need to earn and where you want to be (including identifying all expenses and any “incidentals” like car repair, home repair, etc.)
2- Research the position and your own qualifications within the industry. If they don’t meet your needs, then prepare to negotiate for a pay increase, or start looking for a job that will pay what you deserve.
3- NEGOTIATE. This is the key to showing the employer what you are worth and that you are committed to getting it. Have an up-to-date copy of your on-the-job accomplishments ready to show your boss what you have contributed as a back up for your request. Most importantly, be confident. You’ve earned it and you deserve it!
For further reading on these subjects, check out Mikelann R. Valterra’s book, “Why Women Earn Less, How to Make What You’re Really Worth”, or Nicholas Reid Schaffzin’s book, “Negotiate Smart: The Secrets of Successful Negotiation”.
Until next time,
Erin
Written by Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW - Visit the website to hire executive resume writer Erin Kennedy, CERW, CPRW
Erin is an internationally renowned certified resume writer specializing in professional and executive level resumes and career services.
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Erin Kennedy, MCD, CMRW, CPRW owns Professional Resume Services, where she and her talented staff of writers specialize in professional & executive resumes. Erin is internationally recognized by her peers as one of the best of the best, she is a perennial award-nominated certified resume writer.
Just a study was published in Germany. Than baseline, women earn 25% less than men.
Thanks, and GREETINGS FROM GERMANY
my motto: Mountains never meet, people always
I feel that it will always be a case of proving yourself every area of employment! As a woman in a male dominated job, I have to prove myself every minute of everyday, but the satisfaction of being able to do my job is amazing. Keep your chins up and don’t be allowed to be walked all over. As Dr. Phil said “You tell people how to treat you”.
That was an interesting article, and I really appreciate the tips that you gave at the end. Being assertive and providing opportunities to negotiate terms is a great idea for helping women to bring themselves up. There was actually a Japanese television show that I was watching where the main character was a very successful business woman, but despite all of her efforts the majority of senior male employers looked down on her for being a stiff. So I suppose it’s important to be assertive, but not to take things out of control. Otherwise you may wind up with a demotion!
Erin, you have touched on a very important aspect of work pay and I sincerely hope your readers, both men and women, see this inequality of underpaid women as not just a swipe at the other gender but a real and compelling issue needed to be addressed in this day and age based on facts rather than emotions. And the facts certainly support your surmise above that women do get paid less than men in more positions than would be fair. Laura Fitzpatrick in her article “Why Do Women Still Earn Less Than Men?” in the US edition of the Time magazine finds that “U.S. women still earned only 77 cents on the male dollar in 2008, according to the latest census statistics. (That number drops to 68% for African-American women and 58% for Latinas.)” She further points out that “Women earned less than men in all 20 industries and 25 occupation groups surveyed by the Census Bureau in 2007″.
So what can be done? In answer to that, I really like your approach in the latter part of your article about standing up for their just wages by women and suggestions about how to do it. That makes it more of a pro active approach than a mere lament. Actually, as Fitzpatrick says, an end to such discrimination would benefit both women AND men. Because “When Iowa instituted wage adjustments to combat pay discrimination, men accounted for 41% of the beneficiaries”.
Finally, thanks for bringing the issue forth.
Laura’s article in Time (US) can be found here:
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1983185,00.html#ixzz1Rk34XqdB
Thanks for your thoughts, Mona. You are spot on! I’ll have to check out the link. –Erin