salary negotiation

Women and men differ when it comes to negotiating salary depending on the context. LearnVest takes a closer look at the results of a recent study.

Gosh, women would earn what men earn if we would just buck up and negotiate!

OK, the reality is a little bit more complicated than that. But one of the reasons that we and other publications often point out when trying to parse the persistent wage gap is the fact (opinion?) that women are less likely than men to negotiate their pay.

The Atlantic reports that Researchers from Australia’s Monash University and the University of Chicago decided to find out if this was true, by following 2,500 U.S. job seekers applying for an administrative assistant position. What they discovered was surprising.

RELATED: Looking For a Raise? The Cards May Be Stacked Against Women

The working paper reported that although, overall, there was no difference in the likelihood that a male or female applicant would negotiate their salary, it actually was all about context:

Read on for more.

People can't help but see women and men in different lights, which means it might make sense for each gender to take a different approach to business situations. According to research by NYU and the Harvard Kennedy School, results showed that when both genders read a script that said, "I think I should be paid at the top of the salary range. And I would also like to be eligible for an end-of-the-year bonus," men were thought of as assertive while women gave off the impression of being pushy and unpleasant.

So how can we properly negotiate without offending anyone? Researchers found that if women phrased it in a way that aligned their needs with the company's goals, their requests are less likely to seem negative. This was the script used in the study that appealed the most to participants: "I don't know how typical it is for people at my level to negotiate, but I'm hopeful that you'll see my skill at negotiating as something important that I bring to the job."

If you're upset about your pay or the promotion you've been wanting for a while that never came, it's time to ask for it! Make sure your manager knows that you're gunning for a raise this year and bring it up at your annual performance review, which should be coming up for many of you. Jim Hopkinson, author of Salary Tutor: Learn the Salary Negotiation Secrets No One Ever Taught You, shared a couple of tips for savvy professionals to use when negotiating for a pay bump. Here they are:

• List your achievements. "From your first day of employment, you should maintain a simple document that lists your accomplishments. Keeping this updated will give you ammunition to use during a performance review – or bullet points for your resume if you decide to move on."
• Be seen. "Get noticed by volunteering for new and high profile projects and becoming more involved in the company as a whole."
• Find the money position. "When negotiating salary in a bad economy put yourself in a position to work on revenue-generating projects with incentives for bonuses."
• Emphasize your work performance. "When asking for a raise, don’t complain about your bills being high or what someone else in the company makes. This is about your on-the-job performance. You earn a raise by making the company money, saving the company money, or doing a task that no one else can do."
• Consider the schedule. "You must know the process by which your company gives reviews. Is it once at the end of the fiscal year for everyone? On a rolling basis based on individual hire date? Knowing when operating budgets are created and approved is important so you can make your pitch for more money before funds are allocated."
• Figure out your style. "Also, adapt to your boss’ style. If they’re the buttoned-up, no-nonsense, bottom-line type, you better make sure to back up any proposal with facts and figures to support your argument. If their style is laid-back and big-picture, present your case in terms of how you fit in with the company as a whole, how you interact with fellow employees on the team, and what your vision is moving forward."
• Make yourself heard. "Make sure to increase communication in the weeks and months leading up to your review. Did you sign a new client? Hit your deadline? Bring a project in under budget? Go head and CC: your boss — and in some cases, their boss — so that they’re aware of your recent accomplishments."

It's a fact: women get paid less than men. Although the gender gap is narrowing, there are still leaps and bounds we need to take to even out this unfair discrepancy. We're obviously not going to be handed what we deserve so we need to start asking for it.

A grave mistake women make that hurts them later on is that they aren't negotiating their first salary. This will set them back in the long run, because if a woman starts off her career track earning less money than men, it will be harder to narrow the salary gap and catch.

What's the solution to this? Well, we need to start negotiating for the salary we deserve. The first few steps to earning our worth, includes researching the pay. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Go to your college career center: Take advantage of the resources your expensive tuition provides you, and ask the counselors at your school to give an estimate of what your fellow classmates are making in a particular field. Schools tend to regularly poll their students for salary statistics and the information they give you will give you a more accurate amount of what someone with your profile can expect to receive. They may also be able to share personal anecdotes of what other students in similar situations are making.
• Check out online salary tools: There are a ton of helpful online salary tools that can give you a rough gauge of how much to negotiate for. Take a look at Indeed.com to see what figure their salary search comes up with. What I like about Indeed's salary tool is that it's very simple, so it's a good website to start with. If your company is big enough, you may be able to find out the pay of employees through anonymous salary quotes at Glassdoor.com.
• Ask your employer for the range: When your employer asks how much salary you're expecting (remember don't ask them about pay if they don't talk about it in your interview!), respond in kind with, "What's a fair range that someone at my position is making?" Take in that information and tell them you'll get back to them after you sit on it for a while.

This reader posted in our anonymous Savvy Confessions group, wondering if it's OK to bring up her co-workers' salaries during salary negotiation. Do you have any advice for her?

My annual review is coming up, and it's the time where my company gives small raises based on performance. Instead of a measly three percent raise, I'd like to ask for a larger amount. Like so many women, I was ignorant and didn't negotiate my salary when I first started my job. I soon learned that my co-workers (in the same position, doing the same work) earn more than me (like $10,000 more!), and I have a PhD, and they don't. Is it kosher to use my co-workers' salaries as leverage to negotiate a raise for myself? I know colleagues usually shouldn't talk about each others' salaries, so I don't want to look unprofessional in front of my boss, but I really want to be compensated fairly. What should I do?

Pose your own anonymous questions or off-load your work confessions by posting in the Savvy Confessions group, and I'll find the right expert to help you out.