Special Guest Writer: Kathlene Mullens, MLHR, SPHR, BSBA is the founder and CEO of Female Equality MattersTM, The "No Glass Ceiling" Certification/Brand©.  With over a decade of HR experience in four Fortune 100 companies, Ms. Mullens is using that expertise in recruiting, line HR, employee development, and technology to help leverage the power of consumer spending to yield more women, with more equitable pay, in the C-suite and board rooms of companies, non-profits, and colleges/universities around the world.
www.FemaleEqualityMatters.com / www.facebook.com/FemaleEquality / www.Twitter.com/FemaleEquality



FemaleEqual-AUNTIE here with some sobering statistics about the state of the wage gap.  Actually, it's the beginning of the week, so let's start off with the good news: it hasn't gotten worse.  After all of the bad news in our economy, let's take a moment to be happy that, in the wake of so many losses, we're holding steady on something.
 
Holding steady at what?  77 cents to the dollar.  But what does that really mean? It means that, for the same work at the same level, women make 77% of what men do.  Now, these are all averages, so you may well know some exceptions during which a woman, doing the same work as a similar man, is better compensated. However, we're talking averages and where we are is neither pretty, nor fair.
 
There are many reasons given for why these statistics may exist.  I'm often told it's because women have children and drop out of the career path.  Writing to Savvy Aunties, though, we know that 47.1% of women don't have children (at least not yet), so that can't be the whole reason.  How many women do we know who do have children and still work just as hard as they did before? I know a lot of women who happen to be both fantastic mothers and employees.
 
In short, we really don't know precisely why these statistics exist. We know that they are problematic not only because it's not fair, or we can't buy as many shoes for ourselves and LEGOs for our nieces and nephews as we'd like, but also because it impairs our economic power and stability, both now and in the future (retirement is based on your career earnings as well as how much you can save while you're working).
 
If women are not being paid fairly compared to men (which is data we can see), what does data suggest about women getting promoted fairly (which is data we can't see)? Likely, women are not being advanced as they deserve to be.  Data proves this is true on a macro level; women are over half of the workforce, but only 3% of CEOs, and less than 14% of top leaders at the Fortune 1000.  Somehow, women are systemically being left behind.
 
How do we fix the wage gap?  It's a tough question with an even tougher answer. The biggest impediment is often that employees are forbidden to disclose salary data, so most women will never know that a pay difference even exists.  One big difference between men and women is that men ask for more money, more often and "toot their own horn" more effectively. Don't be shy about your accomplishments come performance review time.  If you can't rate yourself highly and justify a juicy raise, how can your boss?  Another tip is to negotiate your salary when you take a new role, whether it is with a new employer, or a new role with your current employer.  When I was a recruiter, women almost always left money on the table by accepting a job offer without negotiating, while men almost always counter-offered before accepting.
 
Finally, just be aware that the wage gap and glass ceiling really do exist. Awareness will eventually build action that will help to address both issues.

Published: September 20, 2011