To celebrate, check out the resources the National Women's Law Center has made available on its website here and read yesterday's post at the aptly named Equal Pay Negotiations Blog.
Then prepare yourself to ask your employer for a raise to close the gap.
I've spoken with some pretty major American employers about the wage gap over the past couple of years.
Here's what they tell me - the wage gap between men and women is too big to close all at once.
They haven't told me they're waiting for individual women to start negotiating the end of their individual gaps, but I believe that they are.
How else to explain the 43% raise I helped a California lawyer broker with her Fortune 100 employer?
Or even to explain the 25% raises we see our negotiation students negotiate after taking our training?
The Equal Pay Blog reminded women yesterday to focus on salary negotiations when accepting jobs, returning to the work force and when annually reviewing the status of our current job.
As that blog counseled,
Be mindful of the minimum you are willing to be paid when applying to jobs. . . . . When accepting a job make sure you know the going rate for the particular job and negotiate for the best pay possible.
You are NEVER IN AS POWERFUL A POSITION as when the company offers you a job and before you accept it. Use these moments to your advantage.
Finally, once a year you should take an audit of how things are with your job.
Has the salary range for your job increased? Has your industry become hot? Are you making what you could if you were to change companies? Still consider the soft aspects of the job such as sense of purpose, friendshps and lifestyle fit but don’t forget about the money.
via Women Negotiating « Equal Pay Negotiations.
Of course I agree with all of that but I don't want you to wait for one of these occasions to ask for a raise.
One of the reasons you might want to avoid asking on your job-anniversary date is the employer's custom of giving only a certain percentage increase to all employees at that date.
That custom serves as a powerful anchor that will incline your employer to cite "the way things are always done," i.e., not more than 3 or 4 percent more than you're making now, which is 20 to 30% less than your male counterparts.
In the left-hand column are a couple of our favorite blog posts on asking for and getting a raise.
Do your homework, form strategic alliances, plan your "raise campaign" and go for it.
If you need help, my business partner, Lisa Gates, and I provide one-on-one consulting, training for small groups, and in-depth programs for employees inside your corporation or firm at She Negotiates dot com.
You owe it to yourself and to your sisters to raise the bar of all women's wages.
America's employers are waiting for you.
