Equal Pay Day 2020
Did you know that from now and up until the end of the year you will be working for free? Well, that’s only if you are a woman. It blows my mind that this year we celebrate having a woman of colour as Vice President of the USA and we are still dealing with this sh*t. According to national statistics women earn 16% less than men on average. However, this stat is even worse for women of colour, immigrant women, women with kids, who on average start on an even lower wage than white women. To top it off, we see a rise in unequal pay the longer we dedicate to our careers as pay discrepancies rise the further along we get in our career progression. Thankfully National Equal Pay Day brings awareness to pay discrepancies between men and women that do the same job.
There’s plenty of advice out there on what to say when you are asking for a better salary and how to negotiate it but I want to go deeper. How you feel about your self worth, your confidence to communicate your needs and ability to assert yourself in a way that supports your goals is key. Before you say the right words you have to believe them first. Which is why I am sharing my top tips on getting yourself into the right mindset before you ask for a better salary:
1. Don’t ask, don’t get
It may sound blunt, but if you really want a pay rise you need to be prepared to ask. I was about 26 when I first had the conversation and remember dreading it for weeks. I needn’t have worried as they said yes immediately but this raises an interesting point. Whilst men are taught to be ambitious and set goals from an early age, women are typically much more compliant and don’t want to rock the boat. It’s time to turn that thinking on its head in 2020.
2. Do your research
It’s key to do your research before entering into a conversation about pay. First off, define your market rate. There are plenty of salary surveys around that will benchmark roles in most industries and give you a sense of how yours compares. A few calls to recruiters can also help you understand what salary someone of your level should be demanding.
3. Demonstrate your value add
This is not about showing how busy you are but about demonstrating the impact that you have on the overall business. Make a list of all the key achievements and very specifically your role within these. People aren’t mind readers and given the current climate they may not have seen or heard all of the amazing things you have achieved. Write it all down and be prepared to talk about these with confidence. Add stats, percentages, and your performance against targets to illustrate the reasons you deserve the pay rise.
4. Don’t forget the context
2020 has been one hell of a year and that means many businesses have had to make changes to the way they operate. And whilst that shouldn’t discourage you from asking for a pay rise, what it can do is help inform the way you position your request.
5. Prepare for a ‘no’
Make sure you are clear before you go into a meeting about what you will do if the answer is a no. Do you want to leave? Can you wait? Are you open to other suggestions on improving your reward package e.g. Extra holiday, more training and development courses? It's always good to think about this beforehand so that you can talk openly about how to move forward in a way that positively builds on your professional goals.
Clementine is a hypnotherapy app for sleep confidence and anxiety. We are a company made by women, for women. If you haven’t already, download our app and try out our 'Talk with more confidence' session to help you get in the right mindset. Go get’em wonder woman!