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Yep, that means fight for what you deserve. Here are three ways you can do that today:
1. Know the Going Rate
You may not feel comfortable asking a colleague what they make (and it may go against your company policy to do so). But if you fear you're underpaid, find out some basics about the going rate so you know if you're in the range (when in doubt try Glassdoor, PayScale, or Salary.com). Research has found that women are more successful in negotiations when there’s less ambiguity about the appropriate standards—so any frame of reference, industry wide or within your own company, can help you make a case.
2. Talk About Money
After Jennifer Lawrence wrote an article about finding out how much less she was making than her male colleagues, Bradley Cooper announced he’d start sharing his salary publicly—to highlight the pay gap. At Google, a former engineer created a spreadsheet so she and coworkers could share their salaries internally, allowing people to ask and receive raises based on the sheet’s data. Not everyone is going to want to talk about money, and not everyone necessarily deserves to be paid the same. But how can you know what you’re up against if you don’t know what other people make?
3. Check for Salary Parity At Your Company
Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, did it—and then spent $3 million to fix his company's gap. It would be great if every company committed to this process, but you needn't be a CEO to make a difference. Anyone who has access to financials or hiring processes can do some simple math. Are you paying the women less? Then fix it.
4. Don't Call Her "Pushy"
Next time you listen to a woman negotiate, please catch yourself before you have the urge to call her "too aggressive." Would you think she were pushy if she were a dude?
5. Fight for What You Deserve
If you're the person who needs to muster up the courage to go in and negotiate for more, a bit of glass-half empty thinking: What's the absolute worst thing that can happen? Now we'll answer that for you. It's that your boss says no. And you know what will happen if your boss says no? You will survive, and do one or more of the following things: a) Ask what you can do to improve and make a plan to check in again in six months, or b) Do these things and also start looking for a new job. None of these things is the end of the world. So stop making excuses, and go after what you deserve.
* More research-backed negotiation tips in Feminist Fight Club—the book—out now.
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after finding out what a male friend doing a similar job was making—and that it was thousands (tens of thousands, actually) more than what I made. No, I didn’t get slipped an anonymous note. It was really more benign. I just asked him one day when we were talking about our jobs, and he told me. When he realized how much less I made, he encouraged me to ask for more.
