Ladies, Time To Communicate Your Way To Pay Rise

I'm disappointed

I'm disappointed. 'Here come the girls'? Please. I've just read an article featured on the This Is Money website that suggests the real reason women earn significantly less than men is because they are too afraid to ask for more. I'd previously put this down to inherent sexism in the workplace (sorry) but a survey of 5,000 men and women by the Office of National Statistics (published in women's magazine Grazia) suggests that whilst men are continually asking for an increase in pay, women are 'too scared' to even approach the subject with their boss.

'The handful of women who had dared to ask for more admitted it was 'the most stressful thing they had ever done'. But men do not suffer from the same inhibitions' which would explain why 'a typical man who works full-time enjoys a salary of 31,485 UK pounds, which is more than 8,500 UK pounds higher than a woman's salary of 22,964 UK pounds'.

I'm disappointed because, sadly, this rings true. The survey suggests that whilst women are hard and diligent workers, we're not demanding the remuneration we think we deserve for our work because it's simply not in our nature to do so. Talking about and indeed asking for money is not a feminine thing to do. It just doesn't feel 'right'. But for men on the other hand, this kind of communication comes much more naturally.

It makes me wonder whether the fact that there are comparatively so few highly-successful women in business to men is down to sexism in the workplace (preventing female promotion), or actually, the fact that women do not have the same competitive, fight or flight nature, and more importantly, the ability to successfully communicate their achievements, that men do.

We can't blame men for using their initiative to ask for a pay rise. But we can blame ourselves if we can't summon up the confidence to do the same. Unless we want to continue to be on the back foot, and resent ourselves for not having the confidence ask for the reward we think we deserve, then now's the time to do something about it.

We run negotiation skills courses at Bluewood Training as part of our extensive range of management skills and communication skills courses. Please get in touch with us for more information, however, in the meantime, here's some advice from our management trainers for those wanting to successfully negotiating a pay rise:

*Approach any discussion on pay with a positive attitude

*Detail your achievements as clearly as possible - stating exactly what you contribute and what you have achieved for your organisation

*Outline what you intend to achieve going forward

*Be prepared to compromise - for example if your company cannot offer you a pay rise at present (for example if there is a pay-freeze across the board) but can offer you alternative benefits in the meantime, be prepared to consider it

*Make sure you obtain written confirmation of the outcome

by: Gemma Carey

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