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What is in the salary slip?

Do women lack salary negotiating skills? Geeta Padmanabhan finds out

"Women, Work and Wages: Equal Pay for Jobs of Equal Value" states, "In the United States today, wage differentials are a reality." Women working full time — not part-time, not on maternity leave, not as consultants — earn only 77 cents to a full-time workingman's dollar. In Britain, 30 years after the Equal Pay Act, (reported BBC), on average, for every £1.00 a man earns, a woman gets only 82p across both the public and private sectors.

In the banking and insurance sector, for example, male pay averages approximately £18 per hour, whereas women receive just under £10.50.

The Australian government has released the Equal Pay Handbook designed to help employers implement the equal remuneration law. In India, not-at-all-same pay structures affect women at every economic level, from construction/farm workers to shop assistants and domestic help, to lawyers, cashiers and CEOs. For decades, women's groups have tried verbally to close the wage gap.

Reading straight and between the lines, you'd get the unmistakable impression that women are unfairly overlooked and underpaid. Among the reasons floated across the oceans are the "mommy penalty" — the assumption that once they have children, female employees begin to prioritise time and thought for day-care drop-offs over next-quarter deliverables. Women take time off to care for children or elderly parents (and lose seniority). Women accept lower pay in return for more flexible working arrangements.

A major one could be: Women don't negotiate salaries as well as men. Is this true?

Regrettably yes, felt Latha Rajan, Director, Ma Foi. "The reason is that they are not conditioned to demand — many a time there is a feeling they need a certain flexibility and hence they don't negotiate. Though they can deliver equally well, there is a fear that if they negotiate too much the organisation will also demand a lot."

Linda Babcock, a Carnegie Mellon University economics professor, surveyed MBA students who graduated in 2002 and 2003 and found that those who negotiated received 7-8per cent more than what they were initially offered. And of those two graduating classes, 52 per cent of the men negotiated, compared to only 12 per cent of women. "Women leave a lot of money on the table," said Babcock, who co-authored the book, "Women Don't Ask."

"Women like being valued. For them the atmosphere at work and relationship with the company count for more," said Sudha Ravishankar who joined the workforce post-40. Women don't always work to earn a packet.

Cultural factors

The reasons are unprofessional — we come out to evolve, to be ourselves. It is not that we can't negotiate, we don't make that an issue. Pay is incidental. Of course, this conflict of who you are at home and at work happens only among the older generation.

"Are you talking of Chennai women," asked Shashi Ravichandran, Head, Corporate Affairs at Scope International. "Diffidence and unquestioning acceptance are cultural factors, right? Women may also look beyond dollars and cents at the total package, at recognition and opportunities to grow. In the South, we tend to be fatalistic, happy with what we get." Lacking aggression is not a plus point in a competitive market, she warned. "Employers expect you to do the homework, know what your skills are worth in each industry."

"I'm the right person for this question," laughed Vidhyaa M, Senior Manager at Murugappa Group, agreeing that women could do with tuitions for discussing pay packages. She cited several reasons for this slip-up in self-promotion. Women undersell themselves because talking money is considered bad. Relative to men, a woman's self-concept is low. They nurse an underlying guilt about marriage and work. Unlike men, women do not keep track of B-School batchmates' earnings. The general theory is women put in fewer hours. Women who do ask for more are seen as pushy, even by today's younger generation. "I never negotiated my salary," she said. "Someone happened to glance at my pay slip, said `You deserve more' and gave me a pay hike. It may not happen to all women."

Avis, CEO, Image Equity was appalled that the gender debate should extend to something as mundane as bargaining over salaries. "I have seen women use strong negotiating skills from both sides of the table. Go to the IT sector to check out their self-marketing skills. They have evolutionary, inbuilt social graces that they use to great advantage." As managers too, they are excellent at negotiating employee remuneration. "I look into my wallet and hire an employee if I can afford him. My wife would (I report to her both at home and office) talk him into accepting less."

Kavitha HR (at Axis V) bows in the general direction of Avis. "Who told you they don't have skills?" she asked. "Ok, they may have certain inhibitions, and sometimes they may be forced to accept less because of competition. But they certainly have the talent, in fact are better than men in the art of settling the compensation."

So what's a girl supposed to do?

Negotiate cooperatively rather than competitively. ("I like working here, and I'd like to stay. Can you match the offer?") It's business, not personal. Put down your financial goals in writing. Keep a diary of your professional achievements. It will help at the annual performance review.

Save all e-mails/notes about the high quality of your performance. If a colleague praises your work, ask him/her to put it in writing. Find out the typical pay range before the interview. How much should you be making at this point?

Say this: "If I'm right for the job and this is right for me, we'll work out the money."

Be confident. Explain what you've accomplished at past jobs. Remember, "You have to be your own fiercest career advocate".

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