Reduce Gender Wage Gap

Women have struggled with gender discrimination over the years to get where they are today. And while reforms have helped stem out discrimination against women based on their gender on various aspects of life, there still exists a huge inequality between the genders. Men continue to earn significantly more than what women earn. The gender pay gap still remains a big problem that is prevalent in many countries throughout the world. We still have a long way to go but there are steps that can be taken to help reduce the gender gap that still exists even in the developed world.

Women should be encouraged to sharpen their negotiation skills

According to a research, 57 percent of men compared to just 7 percent of women negotiate their salaries. It is even sad that when women do negotiate for their salaries, there is tendency for them to ask for even lesser salaries. A study conducted in 2007 found out that women ask for an average of $7,000 less than men when negotiating for their salaries.

Professional women find negotiation skills tricky due to some behaviors like self-promotion where it is perceived that some work for men may backfire for women. However, negotiation should be taken to be some sort of risk taking. It is all about knowing your skills worth and being clear about what you are able to bring to the table. Also, women just need to remain positive about themselves for them to be able to better use negotiation skills even more effectively to their advantage.

Women should eliminate the imposter syndrome

“Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon in people, especially the high-achieving professionals who don’t consider themselves to be fit for a position. For this, they usually convince themselves that they in fact they cheated their way into where they are. This makes it difficult for women with such feelings to even negotiate for a higher salary or apply for a prestigious job.

Imposter syndrome affects a bigger percentage of women than men. Research shows that women only applied for a promotion when they felt that they met 100 percent qualifications required of the position. Men on the other hand, were too excited to apply for a job even when they knew they only meet up to 60 percent of the listed job’s qualification.

This should serve as a wake up call to ladies should be ambitious and apply for promotions whenever they see opportunities that are available.

Women need to discuss their pay with co-workers

Women also need to discuss about what their male co-workers get paid for the same job they do. Having such information helps to make them become aware of what pay rise they need to ask for when they get promoted.

Necessary gender wage equality legislation should be passed

As part of women empowerment efforts, the necessary gender legislation focused on bridging the wage gap between men and women should be passed. This can go a long way in bringing the huge wage gap that exists between genders.