Women earn less than men almost universally around the world. However, the pay gap between men and women can be overcome in many instances. Women can achieve higher salaries if they are more assertive and confident to bring up the subject when seeking a pay rise from their employer. Women largely rely on their honest and quality work paying dividends, without the need to actually negotiate their pay. While thanks for a job well done may be satisfying and strong motivation, such gratitude has no impact on their payslip. Paylab has prepared some tips for women to better negotiate their pay.
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Research – know your market worth
Jobs are no different than the real estate market. Each has a market value and the best way to find that value is to compare salaries via online salary portals, including Paylab.com. HR agencies and head-hunters are another good source of information.
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Know your ROI (return on investment)
Every new employee strengthens a company and delivers their own added value. Consider that and carefully calculate what you bring to the company and how by using your own expertise and skills you help the company achieve its goals. Pay is a mutual agreement and you are essentially an investment for the company. If a company offers you a job, it means you’re the best possible candidate for that specific job. Know your strengths and weaknesses.
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Be selective with job offers
Salaries vary from job to job depending on sector, region and company size. Standard jobs such as accountant, office manager or marketing staff, just like other specialised jobs, typically have higher salaries in strong sectors such as IT, the pharmaceutical industry, the energy sector, telecommunications, electronics, etc. You typically make more in large companies with foreign ownership, and salaries are higher in larger cities.
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Don’t disclose your former salary to your employer
Don’t disclose your previous/current salary at an interview. You can justify this by stating you don’t feel it’s important given that it was a different position/region/situation/etc. Disclosing your salary to HR puts you at a disadvantage because they can exploit that info for their negotiations and not perhaps reflect the offered position’s current market value.
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Discuss salaries
Many women feel uncomfortable opening up the topic of salaries due to the potential negative reaction often inherent to the topic. They are also afraid to be seen negatively light. It is important to remember you’re no longer a teenager afraid of your parents’ reaction and a few minutes of discomfort and negotiations may ultimately deliver enough for your next holiday. Remember that men negotiate more often and better.
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Have a NUMBER GAME PLAN prepared
Have a clear idea of your lowest acceptable offer and your target amount – that ensures you’ll be satisfied and not afraid to express yourself. Your prospective employer also has a pay range (budget) for a specific position, so aim to find a mutually-acceptable compromise. Aim to negotiate the highest possible base or fixed salary independent of financial and non-financial benefits. Statutory health and social insurance contributions are deducted from this salary, which has a direct impact on social benefits and your future pension benefits. Financial bonuses and year-end bonuses are calculated from the fixed salary
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Ask for the relevant job title
Carefully review the job description and request a change in job title to a more relevant level if you consider that appropriate. With several years of experience, request senior be added to your job title. Consider the future – a better-sounding job title may help on your CV in your future career. Respond in kind if your employer continues to put additional responsibilities onto your shoulders. No one wants more demanding work without fair compensation.
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Try to limit and delegate unpaid work
Many working women have a second job: caring for children and relatives, and housework. Women perform much more unpaid work compared to men. Define rules in your household and spread your resources. Reduce unpaid work by using affordable household help and use the saved time for your personal development.
A comparison of salaries at the position level provides a relevant insight into fair financial compensation. Based on an analysis conducted by the international Paylab.com portal, women earn 2 to 11% less on average than men in the same positions in individual CEE countries. Read more about topic in our Paylab Newsroom.
