Do the math of salary negotiation

In my home province, Manitoba, women make 71 cents compared to every dollar earned by a man in a similar role. I know - because that was me.

Whether you're in Manitoba or somewhere else, chances are good that you're making less money (and probably doing more work) than a man who does something similar.

While #wagetransparency is something we need to advocate for, it doesn't actually change an important factor that drives wage inequality.

That factor: women and historically marginalized folks rarely #negotiate their job offers. 

I know this because I was one of those people

Before I opened my business I had a 17 year career as a public servant. I worked my way up from a data entry clerk position into a senior executive role where I was responsible for building a culture of innovation across the entire Manitoba public service. 

But when I looked back at my career and the quick pace at which I was promoted, I tended to play small and credit the people around me for my success. I'd always talk about how grateful I was to be given learning opportunities and stretch assignments.

I thought those stretch assignments were the ticket to my success. And the people who graciously put my name forward were champions to whom I was eternally grateful. 

I had no idea how much money I was missing out on

My promotions all came with a small pay raise - but only to the minimum level for that next job (even when I had been doing the duties of that job - plus my old job - for 6 months to a year before actually getting paid for it).  

In every case, I was doing free work for a period of time to prove myself. But even after I proved myself, I was still being paid the minimum amount possible for my job. 

It never crossed my mind to ask for more.

It also didn't cross my mind to offload the work of my old job. 

It wasn't until I found a public list of salaries of government employees that I realized how much I had been missing out on. I looked up the wages of my colleagues (especially the people I considered slackers).

Some of my male colleagues were earning $15,000 more per year than me

When I thought about my salary, I always considered it in the context of my standard of living and expenses. And so while $575 more per paycheque sounded nice (but it was only really $300 more after taxes), I hadn't done the math to understand the cumulative impact of that salary gap. 

So I went back through the records for the previous five years.

I had missed out on just under $75,000.

That would have paid for my daughter's university degree...at least twice.

It would have financed some pretty fabulous vacations for our family.

I could have padded my retirement savings.

We could have simply breathed a little easier every time interest rates went up.

It wasn't their fault; it was mine

I missed out on $75,000 because I didn't negotiate when I moved from a unionized position to an executive role.

In other words, avoiding one hard conversation cost me $75,000.

Negotiation is like investing - start early

Just as the power of compound interest makes investing early a lucrative decision if you start to do it in your 20s, negotiation has a similar impact. 

The earlier you start, the bigger the impact. 

If you're a professional and start negotiating immediately when you enter your professional career, you'll earn an estimated 2 million extra during your career, assuming you change jobs every 3-4 years and continue to grow in your expertise and reputation. 

It's better than winning the lottery - because it's something you can control.

And it's why I encourage women to negotiate every day - and especially when it comes to your salary or contracts. 

Even famous women struggle with this

Look at Vanna White, the American television personality and game-show hostess of Wheel of Fortune.

She has held that job since 1982 and is currently fighting for her first salary negotiation in 18 years. 

Her co-host has been negotiating via lawyers for years, leading to him making 15 million a year while she only makes 3 million. Do some simple math, and you'll see that he has earned $150 million in the time it took her to earn $30 million. Ugh. 

Of course, Vanna grew up being told that it's not polite to negotiate and that she should be grateful for what her career has already given her. 

This is why I need your help 

We need to change the conditioning that women are with, to level the playing field and teach them - from the time they're young - that they deserve to negotiate for their worth. 

Because even in 2023, young women are being told by society that negotiating is wrong.

When we look at hockey, we see men negotiating millions of dollars more into their contracts each year. No problem. It's expected. 

But when we zoom in on the women's league (PHF) - which arguably is more exciting to watch - negotiations are focused on trying to eke out a few thousand dollars more. In an effort to strengthen their position, this new women's league is fighting to unionize.

And what messages are we hearing from media?

Girls who look up to these women are reading that female hockey players should just be grateful that they have a league to play in at all. 

There is quite the double standard at play. 

Wow.

You deserve to make more money

If even high-profile TV stars and athletes struggle with negotiation, I know you probably do too.

So for the next few weeks, my weekly newsletter will be focused on #salarynegotiation .

That's because on August 17, I'll be running a free Salary Negotiation Masterclass, and I want to prepare you with more knowledge and insider tips than I can deliver in just that one hour.

If you are even thinking about #interviewing for jobs this upcoming year, I'd love to see you there.

And if you have a friend or family member who is planning a job change, please forward this email to her so she can sign up for my newsletter too. 

I'll be sharing more via my newsletter, but in the meantime, if you want to read about what happened when I tried to renegotiate my salary, visit my latest blog post.