Even in 2022, there is still a huge discrepancy between men and women’s salaries across the board.
Encouragingly, many companies have already pledged to tackle the issue head-on, with policies in place to create pay parity. But there’s still one thing that the majority of companies are missing when it comes to narrowing the gender pay gap: salary transparency.
At Talent.com, we undertook a survey of 2000 UK employees to discover how salary transparency – the practice of listing expected salaries on job adverts – might improve their working lives.
Of the respondents, 98% believed that salary transparency is important, an overwhelmingly large endorsement for the practice. Yet currently, only 1 in 5 job adverts list the salary. This could mean that money is left on the table, especially for those who find it difficult to discuss pay.
Unfortunately, this reluctance to negotiate affects women disproportionately. We found that 40% of women find it difficult to discuss salary in a job interview.
Why is this? A study into pay negotiation found that it could be less to do with the women themselves, than how they are perceived by the interviewer. It found that when a woman initiates negotiation around pay, perception of niceness and demandingness plays a role in the interviewer’s resistance to the negotiator.
If the problem is in raising the issue, then mandatory salary transparency could be one way to help solve this dilemma. This is backed up by our survey, where 79% of respondents said they would support a law requiring employers to disclose salary information in job postings, with 75% believing that salary transparency would have a positive impact on helping to close the gender pay gap.
Ultimately, whether or not a salary is listed, there are a few ways for women to increase their chances of a successful salary negotiation:
Do your research and prepare your case:
Find out the type of salary your role commands across the board, focusing on hard numbers. Look also at the salaries of those around you, and anchor your pitch within your team. You can use Talent.com’s salary tools to research the market rate for positions such as yours. Put your findings into a structured case that lists your achievements and successes which equate appropriately to your financial ask.
When to ask:
Set a clear time to discuss salary with the team member who has the authority to respond to your request. It should take place face-to-face, when they can give the discussion their full attention. Of course, your request should take into account the position of the business – only ask when business is doing well, or it could make you look like you’re not in tune with current business needs.
The ask:
Keep it positive, professional and based on facts not opinions. If you’re turned down this time, ask about room for growth and when you might expect to make next steps.
Remember:
Asking for a pay rise isn’t personal: it’s business. Salary negotiations should take place once the value you bring to a company is no longer properly compensated, and your goal should be to redress this imbalance
About the Author
Noura Dadzie, Senior VP of Talent.com
With over 20 years of experience in online recruitment and software-as-a-service solutions, Noura Dadzie boasts a successful track record in the digital talent acquisition sector. After a prosperous career in the industry, Noura now manages and oversees British and International sales operations for Talent.com’s next-generation platform. The platform currently hosts over 50M jobs across 77 markets.
