The wage gap between men and women has hardly budged in the last decade. In fact, according toΒ researchreleased in April of 2013 by the Institute for Womenβs Policy Research (IWPR), it will take another 45 years before U.S. men and women earn the same pay for doing the same jobs.
The median weekly earnings of women working full time in 2012 were $691, compared to $854 for men, according to theΒ Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thatβs a bigger gap than the previous year, when the median pay was $684 for women vs. $832 for men. In the April 2013 study, The Gender Wage Rap by Occupation, the IWPRΒ reportedΒ that female chief executives in 2012 earned just 76 percent of what their male counterparts made, while female general and operational managers earned 68 percent of menβs earnings in those jobs.
Thereβs plenty of debate about the reasons for the gender wage gap and how to resolve it. Are women at a disadvantage when theyβre hired because they are less likely than men to negotiate their salaries? Is their reluctance to ask for more money based on misconceptions about the negotiating process?
To answer those questions, here are four common myths about salary negotiation:
Myth #1: Women are less successful than men at negotiating.Β Lee E. Miller, co-author ofΒ A Womanβs Guide to Successful Negotiating, said this idea stems from a misinterpretation of data. Some studies have shown that job recruiters are more likely to expect male job applicants to counter a salary offer, but Miller said that doesnβt mean employers are any less receptive to women negotiating. Instead, the problem may be that women are less comfortable and less successful with the aggressive approach to negotiating that men often use.
βMen and women sometimes negotiate differently, but they both are effective if they do it right,β he said.
Because theyβve generally had less negotiating experience than men, women sometimes lack the confidence that they can do it effectively. Millerβs advice: βFake it until you make it.β
βRegardless of whether youΒ areΒ confident, you have to act confident in your negotiating,β he said.
Myth #2: The first offer is as good as it gets.Β Recruiters go into each interview with a certain salary bracket in mind for the job theyβre trying to fill, but there is usually room for negotiation within that range. A job interviewer rarely opens up with a companyβs best and final offer, said Carolyn Thompson, a certified career coach in the Washington, D.C., area.
And although it may seem counterintuitive, she said smaller employers often have more flexibility than large ones.
βThe larger the company, the less opportunity there is to jump bandwidth because the salaries are pre-budgeted,β Thompson said.
Myth #3: The boss knows best about fair compensation.Β Rather than leave it to your potential employer to decide your market worth, do some homework to find out what others in the position youβre applying for are getting paid. Check out websites that report data on compensation and talk to networking contacts familiar with salaries in your field.
Thompson noted that as women enter the higher executive levels, they encounter fewer and fewer female peers, βso there are only one or two people with a similar background to yours with whom you can discuss, βHow much is so-and-so making?ββ
To find out more about whoβs making what, Thompson suggested consulting another recruiter in the industryβsomeone youβve worked with before and feel comfortable speaking with candidly.
Myth #4: Salary is the only thing thatβs negotiable.Β The salary budget may not be flexible, but thatβs not necessarily the end of the conversation.
βThere are a lot of things people can do to put more money into a package: signing bonuses, moving packages and other types of things that you may able to negotiate,β Thompson said.
Every organization has a different way of structuring its compensation, Miller noted. βItβs really about understanding the processβthat there is give and take,β he said.
And remember what best-selling author Nora Roberts once said: βIf you donβt ask, the answer is always no.β
Written by Sonya Stinson. Originally published as part of Northwestern MutualVoice on Forbes.com.
These are great tips! It’s important that women know that they should negotiate and that they can be successful with negotiations. If you need help drafting your negotiation request, you should check out salaryBOOST’s free ebook called “Get the Salary You Deserve: 31 Killer Salary Negotiation Letter Sample Templates.” Find it here: http://www.gosalaryboost.com/blog/2014/7/30/31-killer-salary-negotiation-scripts
We’ve updated the link for the 31 killer salary negotiation scripts. You can find them here now: http://www.lewis-lin.com/blog/2015/5/6/31-killer-salary-negotiation-scripts