There are countless articles, diagrams, and studies that display the gender wage disparities for women around the world. They are broken down by age, race, nationality, and several other factors.
While I am not here to dispute the data, I am challenging the unspoken fact that women own just as much responsibility for the gender wage gap than men and organizations do. The primary key to closing the gap is building relationships with the decision-makers, which I shared in an article recently.
Secondly, self-care is a significant component that I discussed in a Forbes article last year. Another common challenge that women have is actually knowing their value to an organization and in their industry.
Having a clear picture of your contributions and significance in an organization and knowing what you bring to the table will give you the confidence to ask for what you deserve.
The fastest way to get a raise this year is to get crystal clear on the value that you offer your organization and have in the market; (2) compare it to what you’re currently getting paid and; (3) ASK for the difference.
If you’re valued at $220,000 in the market, but you only make $150,000, then your employer is capturing $70,000. Just because you’re making $150,000, that doesn’t mean that’s your value in the market. It’s how much you’re being paid.
If you are outperforming your peers and doing more work than what’s outlined in your job description, it’s time to get clear on your value and capture a portion of it and put that money into your household.
Sounds simple enough right? It is, but for many women, it’s a tremendous feat. What are you doing that’s clouding the vision of your value?
Are you busy going around in circles, trapped in telling the story of what “they” did to you, or all the things that are distracting you from your goal? If so, you will continue to be frustrated by making less money than you deserve.
So let’s talk about it. Do you know your value in the market or your industry, and if you haven’t thought about it, is it no wonder that you don’t know how to ask for a raise? Could this be the reason you don’t have the confidence to ask for a raise, or you don’t really know how much you should ask for?
Take Inventory of Your Accomplishments
What tangible efforts and results have you created for your organization? Grab a pen and a piece of paper and write (not type), the top 10 things you’ve done for your organization in the past two years. If you’ve only done five awesome things, what about in the past four years?
Write them down, because when you’re able to articulate your value, you will confidently own your value and ask for what you want. Many women don’t own their full value for fear and shame around being called braggadocious.
How can you articulate what you haven’t owned? That’s the value that you’re bringing to the market. So, it’s not necessarily about what you’ve done for your organization, but your industry.
What degrees and certifications do you have?
Do you have leadership experience? Have you lead 15 or 2,000 people in a local, national or global company. What have you done that sets you apart from your peers? What are the tools that you have in your toolbox that’s uncommon for the organization you’re in, that your peers don’t have?
What have you produced that nobody else has produced? What makes you different and sets you apart from the crowd? And if nothing makes you different or you aren’t doing anything noteworthy, well…that’s a whole different conversation.
A former client said that she worked in her organization for nearly 20 years, and a man that worked for only one year made $15,000 more than she did. Yes, clean your glasses. You read that correctly.
He had one year, and she had 20, yet he made $15,000 more than she did. You know why? Because he asked for it and was able to articulate his value in the interview.
When she engaged in self-care, stopped going in circles, let go of the woe is me story, and FINALLY owned her value, she could see how she’d been holding herself back during her entire career.
She was making good money, but she should have been making GREAT money. She doesn’t have that challenge anymore, but plenty of women around the world do.
Are you one of them?
Who Is Appraising Your Value?
If you’re getting your house appraised, are you going to use an appraiser that will give you the lowest appraisal, or are you going to try to find someone who will try to get you the highest value?
You would use a great appraiser or have a real estate agent make recommendations for home improvements to increase the home’s value. Why don’t you do the same for yourself?
You can search on Glassdoor.com for jobs that are similar to yours to know your current value or you can search jobs where you are actually performing that role, but you aren’t being compensated for it properly.
You can also do some research in the market and talk to mentors, people who have the career path you desire, or career coaches. A lot of people hire resume writers and refresh their LinkedIn profile, but if you don’t know your value in the market, you can be aiming for the wrong position.
You’re better than you think you are. Do the work to be able to capture your value in the market. Then formulate a smart plan to ASK and receive the raise you desire and deserve. Your life will never be the same for the best.