You probably know that if you’re a woman in the U.S. you get paid less (on average) than a man. Women are earning about 80 cents to every man’s dollar. So what’s a few cents?
A lot. The wage gap for a female college graduate in the U.S. really adds up: some estimate that over her lifetime she will earn $1.2 million less than men of her age group.
What are you going to do about it? One thing you can start doing now is negotiating your salary. (If you don’t have a salary, you can still prepare by thinking about how you’re going to ask your future employer for adequate compensation.) Linda Babcock, who teaches right around the corner at CMU, has joined with Sara Laschever to write Women Don’t Ask: the High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation – and Positive Strategies for Change. Their book offers examples of how other women have failed or succeeded at salary negotiation, and what to do if your boss responds angrily when you ask for more money. They also say that beginning to negotiate at home with your partner – about laundry, child care, and so on – can really prepare you to negotiate at work.
You can find Women Don’t Ask, call number 158.5 B234W, on the second floor of the library.