Live Q&As

Great question!  This brings us to our first point which is that it is very important to do your homework in advance by utilizing online salary resources such as http://nonprofitstaffing.com/downloads/PNP-Salary-Survey-2010---DC.aspx; www.glassdoor.com; and www.payscale.com

Once you have done your homework and have established the salary range appropriate to the position, go through your entire personal budget and figure out the lowest number you can accept, then create a middle and a high number.  This is the process to establish your desired salary range. 

If you take nothing else away from this talk, remember this magic phrase: "$__ is very important to me.  What can we do to get me closer to this number?" Then stop talking, smile, and breathe!

A negotiation should take as long as it needs to in order to come to a resolution.  Remember you have the upper hand- they have offered you a job and they want you to accept.  Don't underestimate your worth!  Keep in mind that your future salary history will be based on this number.

We recognize there are institutional reasons for the gender pay gap (see www.aauw.org), the problem is also compounded by individual women not negotiating.   In our work with young women, we have found that women face the following barriers to negotiation to name a few:

1. feels like a confrontation
2. will be seen as aggressive
3. afraid offer will be rescinded
4. perceived as greedy

Indeed, the statistics speak for themselves! Unfortunately, women are often socialized to not toot their own horns and advocate for themselves. This plays out in many forums especially when negotiating a job offer.

It's likely that a company will have a different compensation structure for contractors.   It's best to try to clarify their fee structure as well as continuing to advocate for the unique skills you possess.

Yes, it's very possible the lack of women in key leadership roles contributes to this pay discrepancy.  Organizations such as PLEN strive to increase the number of women in leadership roles. 

Each year, PLEN brings women students from colleges and universities across the country to Washington, D.C. for a weekend, week, or an entire summer to experience first-hand how public policy is shaped and implemented at the national level.

Students meet with and learn from women leaders making and influencing public policy at the highest levels in the Congress, courts, federal agencies, corporate sector, policy research and advocacy organizations and the news media.

Women need role models to show them these career opportunities are possible.

Make sure you have a strong sense of where the company is financially- for example, do you reasonably think the company is thriving and able to give you more? If so, it's definitely reasonable to ask in the middle of the year.   Also, make sure you have enough personal accomplishments by that time to clearly merit a raise.

Female new college graduates earn 17 percent less than their male counterparts http://bit.ly/ii8acy