Author: Karleen Knuth, Retired Director, Lean Management Business Partner at Sun Life | Founder and Owner of The Finishing Institute
United WE believes women deserve equal pay for equal work and is committed to closing the gender pay gap for women and their families. This is one of the reasons I’m a supporter of the work United WE is doing.
Big Promotion, Small Increase
One of the biggest gender parities that impacted me occurred when my employer went through a large reorganization. They decentralized their operations and created smaller business units with all the different functions under one leader. They touted we would be like a “mini-CEO” of our own organization.
You can imagine how thrilled I was to be selected to lead one of these new, mini businesses! It was a big job with a lot of travel. I was responsible for offices in Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas and Wisconsin. I looked forward to the challenge of learning about all the new functions under my leadership and making changes to increase profits.
I received a standard promotional increase at the time. I don’t recall exactly how much it was, maybe 5%-10%. Nothing significant. I just remember it wasn’t what I was expecting given my new responsibilities. But, things were moving fast during the reorganization, and the Board of Directors had not yet approved the new roles or salaries.
Gender Pay Gap
During the budget process, I discovered a male coworker doing the same job as me was making 87% more! You read that correctly. He was making nearly twice as much as me. Not to mention, I was outperforming him.
I had never advocated for a raise before. But I knew I had a good case because my performance was exceptional, and I had the data to show the pay gap.
I presented my case and received a $10,000 raise. That still did not get me close to pay equity. But, I was 31 years old and didn’t have the confidence to advocate for more.
Salary Negotiation Tips
Since then, I have learned how to negotiate my salary, which is critical because most everything else in the future is based on a percentage of salary, e.g. merit increases and bonuses, Here are my tips:
Know your value. What extensive experience or exceptional abilities do you bring to the table? Employers will pay for value.
Do not provide your salary history. Why? Because women have historically been underpaid compared to men, you could be starting at a disadvantage. Did you know that some cities and states are passing laws prohibiting employers from asking about salary history when determining salary? Kansas City, Missouri has passed such a law. This is one way to help bridge the pay gap.
Instead, ask what the range is for the position. Do your own research too so you know how it compares. If the salary isn’t in your range, ask if there are other responsibilities that could be added to the role to get the salary closer to your needs.
I’m so grateful for the work United WE is doing so other women don’t have to fight as hard for equal pay.