SavvySugar

What the Gap Can Teach Us About Money

SavvySugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:30:51 -0700

The Gap may have many loyal followers stocking up on its basic tees, but its balance sheet hasn't been seeing much black - until lately. The company reported a 51 percent increase in profit last quarter, even though sales were down, by cutting costs and managing inventory. Good for the Gap, but what do the global company's finances have to do with you and me? Find out when you read more.

The Gap is surely pleased with its increased profit - cut expenses and you'll have money left over, too. Cost cutting is the number-one way to save more money. When there's a set amount of money coming in, the only way to save more is to reduce expenses. Whether we need to nix big expenses like a car or small ones like too much weeknight delivery, depends on our individual financial situations.

Tightly controlling inventory is a must to avoid wasting assets - something the Gap learned the hard way - and managing personal inventory will save you from spending money unnecessarily. How often have you gone grocery shopping, only to find that you already had an item in your refrigerator that you just repurchased? What about going clothes shopping, only to find that you have something almost identical in your closet? Make the time to take inventory of what you own before heading out to the store.

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The Gender Gap Is Shrinking - Except at the Top

SavvySugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:23 -0800

It turns out, the difference between men and women's salaries is smaller than we thought - as long as those salaries aren’t very big to begin with. A new study from PayScale.com compared salaries across 90 different jobs, adjusting for any outside factors that might affect the salary (the location of the job, the worker’s education, etc.) except for the worker’s gender. What they found was surprising - to see the results, read on.

How Much Do You Know About the Gender Gap?

SavvySugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 08:30:30 -0700

For the first time in American history, women are in a position to outnumber men in the work force, but we're still earning less than our male counterparts for the same work. What do you know about the dollars and cents of the gender gap? Take the quiz!

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Take the quiz

Men Earn in Nine Months What You Earn in a Year

SavvySugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:17:17 -0700

The gender pay gap is definitely not a thing of the past - the 77 cents that women make for every man's dollar in this country is a sure sign that gender inequality continues to plague the workplace. To put things in perspective, men make the equivalent of a woman's yearly salary by the time the first of September rolls around. Configured on a weekly basis, a woman must work until the following Tuesday to catch up to a man in an equivalent position.

Just last week, the Senate killed an equal pay bill, called the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, that was aiming to counteract a Supreme Court decision limiting how long workers can wait before suing for pay discrimination. The original decision was made when Lilly Ledbetter sued her employer for pay discrimination and the case escalated all the way to the Supreme Court. Want to know how long you have to sue your employer for unfair pay? Just read more

As Lilly learned when the final gavel was pounded over her case, you have 180 days starting from your hire date to sue over pay discrimination. Her case makes it clear why it's so important to be aware of what your colleagues earn: She worked 20 years for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. before she learned that she was earning far less than her male colleagues. An anonymous co-worker slipped her a note to make her aware of the disparity and Ledbetter says, "I was shocked. I lost my composure. I had to go into the ladies' lounge and sit down because it was just like falling; you look around and see who's looking at you."

Goodyear gave her specific instructions when she was hired to not discuss her pay, and she complied knowing that breaking this rule could mean trouble for her job. Even if your employer doesn't give you strict instructions to keep your lips sealed about pay, talking to your colleagues about salary is something that definitely doesn't come naturally. When I interviewed negotiation expert Linda Babcock she suggested asking your colleagues what they think you should be making, which could be a more comfortable question. Have any of you ever approached a co-worker about pay issues?

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Savvy Links: Don't Fall For Sneaky Tricks While Shopping

SavvySugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:00:27 -0800

Don't fall for these sneaky marketing tricks while shopping. - Glamour
Is there a generation gap in savings? - Get Rich Slowly
The job market will rebound a lot sooner than expected. - Slate
How to spend smarter this holiday season. - Consumerism Commentary
A mouse pad and a weekly to-do list in one. - GeekSugar
How to start investing. - Kiplinger

Working Moms Offered $11,000 Less Than Non-Mothers

SavvySugar — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:30:24 -0700

We’re all (unfortunately) quite aware by now of the gender gap that exists in the American workplace. But did you know there are also some pretty serious discrepancies among women? A new study comparing mothers to non-mothers in the workplace has found that working moms are at a major disadvantage.

The study compared the perceptions of two nearly identical resumes. The only real difference? One listed "member of the PTA" as an activity, while the other listed "fundraiser for the neighborhood association." To see what researchers found, read more.

On average, mothers were offered $11,000 a year less than non-mothers.
The applicants with a "mom" resume were viewed as less competent, and were less likely to be recommended for hire than non-mothers.
Women with children were also viewed as less promotable and less committed to their jobs, and weren't as likely to be recommended for management positions.
Non-mothers were more than twice as likely as mothers to get a call back from employers.

As icing on the cake, when the same experiments were performed with male applicants, men with children were actually viewed more favorably than those without kids. What are your thoughts on this study? Have you noticed any of these discrepancies in your own workplace?

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Ask Savvy: How Do I Follow Up on a Job I Want?

SavvySugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:00:31 -0700

Dear Savvy,

I have a question about a job I applied for earlier this month (Oct. 4). I got a reply the following morning because my resume didn't download, and I replied with an apology and another attachment a few hours later. I didn't hear back and wasn't sure what to do.

On Oct. 14 I got an email saying that they still had some part-time positions available if I was still looking for employment, to which I answered, yes, I was available and still interested. I asked for a phone number and if I could call, and offered to come in to discuss details or interview. I ended by saying that I looked forward to meeting with her and thanked her. I haven't gotten a reply since.

I really need a job and this one is in my hometown. How do I proceed? Should I look up the business phone number, call the career center, or follow up with another email? What would I say in an email? I'm not sure what to do - do you have any advice?

Savvy says: Job searching etiquette can be such a guessing game. To see my advice, read more.

You got lucky when the employer reached out and asked for your resume when it didn't work the first time. Many would move on to the next one without blinking. You lucked out again when they followed up with you to see if you had interest in part-time opportunities, and you did the right thing by responding promptly. The two week gap after they reached out to you makes me think things have changed on their end, but you'll never know unless you ask.

Because they contacted you via email and you haven't spoken before, use email to get in touch with them now. When you do email your contact, say that you'd been alerted of job opportunities a couple weeks ago and are following up to see if that's still the case. Be friendly, say something kind regarding the company, and keep it short.

If this job doesn't work out in your favor, keep chugging with your job search and learn from your mistakes next time around. Triple check any attachments you send to a hiring manger, making sure they are the proper attachments and they open correctly. Good luck!

Have a question for me? Ask away by posting your questions in my Ask Savvy group.

Even in Human Resources, Men Make More

SavvySugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:00:40 -0700

Human Resources departments are dominated by women 70 percent of the time, yet men in the field dominate when it comes to salary. The pay gap between male and female HR executives trickles down to every level of the department: In 2007, the median salary for male HR managers was 47 percent more than female paychecks, while male rank-and-file employees took home 28 percent more than their female counterparts.

One HR consultant assumes the gap could be blamed at least partially on the fact that many men in HR were executives at other firms who were recruited to their roles and enticed with the hefty compensation they were already earning. It is interesting that the people in charge of our payroll and employment issues have their own very visible gender wage-gap.

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Will the US Follow Britain's Lead in Exposing Underpaying Companies?

SavvySugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:04:23 -0700

The US is very hush-hush compared to other countries when it comes to discussing money, and our federal law protects our income tax information from being exposed. Not only does this protect individuals' privacy, it also conceals the prevalent gap between the rich and poor and makes the exact gender gap difficult to measure.

UK Equality Minister Harriet Harman has spearheaded proposed laws that would encourage companies to publish figures showing their average gender pay gap. It's a clever way to get around sharing individual salaries while clearly exposing the companies who underpay their female employees compared to men. Harman explained, "We have structural discrimination on pay and we will be able to see it clearly for the first time, workplace by workplace. Women will be able to see they are paid less than men and will be able to complain about it and challenge it."

The legislation would require public companies to share these figures while heavily suggesting that private companies follow suit, and Harman says she's confident they would. I think they could really be on to something with the proposed law, but how do you feel about the second piece of it? The legislation would also promote "positive discrimination" by favoring female and ethnic minority job candidates with equal qualifications.

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Are Women to Blame For the Glass Ceiling?

SavvySugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:30:15 -0700

A new study has led researchers to conclude that women are responsible for creating their own glass ceiling. The study involved 251 male and female managers from different industries nationwide. Participants rated themselves and requested ratings from supervisors, peers, and subordinates; separately, each participant was asked to predict the way others would rate their performance.

The results showed that female managers are more than three times as likely to undervalue their bosses' opinions of their job performance, compared to their male counterparts. Scott Taylor, an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management who conducted the study said, "Women have imposed their own glass ceiling, and the question is why."

Middle-aged and senior women were more likely to underrate their supervisors' opinions than younger workers, but Taylor said the findings could explain why there are fewer female CEOs or why women earn less than men on average for doing the same work. Do you think there's validity to the study's conclusions?