Recently, a male friend of mine got a new job. He's getting paid a good salary, and he didn't even need to negotiate for it. But while talking to one of his new female coworkers (who has been working there longer, has more experience, and is older than him), he found out that he's making substantially more than her.
When he told me about this, I was outraged. It's upsetting to see such blatant sexism at work, but unfortunately, it's not uncommon. Though the gender pay gap has narrowed since 1980, it's still a chronic issue. According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, in 2018, as a whole, women earned 81.1 percent of what men earned.
That number gets even more striking when you look at race. When compared to white men, in 2018, white women earned 81.5 percent as much as them. Black women earned just 65.3 percent of white men's earnings, while Hispanic women earned 61.6 percent.
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It's not your fault that gender-based wage discrimination still exists. Rather, it's a systematic, global issue. "The U.S. economy has a structural flaw in it when it comes to women’s wages," said Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women, a grassroots organization that works to protect women's rights and end discrimination. "That’s why we have the wage gap."
That can be discouraging, but there are ways to advocate for yourself when facing gender-based wage discrimination.
1. Get ready to negotiate.
It's exciting to get a job offer, especially if you've been searching for a while. Hold on, though — don't accept anything without negotiating. Fighting to get paid a fair wage should happen before your job even starts.
Laura Segal, the senior vice president of communications at the American Association of University Women (AAUW), an organization that aims to empower women and girls through education, training, and initiatives, said that it's important not to jump the gun and accept an offer without looking into it, even if you're excited about getting a job.
She recommends doing as much research as possible on salary ranges for the position, and being ready to negotiate based on the information you find.
Framing your negotiations in a research-based way is one of the most effective ways to reach a compromise on a salary, Segal explained. She said to look online at job sites and industry groups to "educate yourself on what the ranges are for this kind of salary for the position that you’re going into in your area." Being able to show that you've done the research is a better tactic than trying to self-promote, she said.
Van Pelt also thinks that negotiation is key to getting the salary you want. She recommends learning the ins and outs of negotiation by using online training programs.
On top of that, she suggests looking at your entire compensation package and negotiating for better benefits, including healthcare, vacation time, and child care. While it's important, salary is still just one part of your total compensation package.
"As women, we’re really not taught negotiation skills," said Van Pelt. "We want to be kind and we want to be polite, or we don’t want to be seen as combative or aggressive."
With that in mind, remember, even if it feels weird, negotiation is normal. "Most employers aren’t going to rescind an offer because you ask for a little more money," Segal said. "They might not give it to you, but they won’t rescind it."
2. Take Action
If you find out that you are making significantly less money than a male coworker in the same position, keep calm. Before you do anything, prepare yourself, and go in armed with facts about your standing in the company.
"Go to [your] human resources department and have a discussion with them about it," said Van Pelt. "Let them know that [you’re] aware of it and why it’s important for [you] to be paid." Let them know that this kind of wage discrimination impacts your life, your pension plan, and future salary increases.
In some cases, you may not feel comfortable going straight to your human resources department. If that's how you feel, Segal recommends first reaching out to a lawyer for advice. "That’s also a path you can take after you talked to your HR department if it doesn’t go the way you expected or it’s not a great answer," she said.
If HR is willing to work with you and reach a fair compromise, that would be an ideal situation. "An HR department that is open and receptive to talking about pay disparities, has worked internally on pay audits and fair compensation settings, and is abreast of pertinent state and federal laws is in the best position to help," said Segal. If, however, your HR department is unwilling to listen or consider giving you a fair compensation, you still have other avenues to ensure fair pay.
You may be able to get the law involved, but it depends on your case. "This is really fact-specific and fact-dependent," said Segal. "Seeking advice from an attorney or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the best way to proceed. They can go over the evidence that you have available and provide legal advice based on what you relay."
3. Advocate for change within your company.
If you suspect that there is widespread wage-based discrimination, ask your employer to conduct an equal pay audit.
During an equal pay audit, employers look through their current employees' salaries and compensations to see if there are notable discrepancies. From there, they can figure out a way to make the company's salaries as a whole more equal.
Segal said that this kind of audit is considered best practice. Companies that are committed to guaranteeing that their employees have equal rights can look into these types of reviews to strengthen their company.
"It’s definitely one of the top recommendations we give to employers," said Segal.
4. Start a conversation.
Talking about the gender pay gap is important to ensure it remains visible.
"Colleagues can talk to other women and men in their organization and find out how much they’re being paid," said Van Pelt. She said that when she was young, it felt taboo to ask about others' salaries. "I remember when I was growing up, you could not ask people how much money they were making. That only benefitted the employers. That did nothing to benefit women."
Remember that it isn't illegal for some employees to talk to coworkers about salaries. The 1935 National Labor Relations Act made it illegal for private sector employers to prohibit these conversations. The law is a little murky, though, and some employers still implicitly or explicitly discourage employees from discussing salaries with coworkers.
"At the federal level there are a few different federal statutes and executive orders that protect some employees, under certain circumstances, from retaliation when talking about their wages," said Segal. "However, not all workers at all levels, in all industries are covered. Similarly, some state laws do protect workers more fully, but there are differences state to state in who is covered and how the law applies."
This type of discrepancy between laws is the reason that it's so important to create a conversation about the pay gap. If you really want to make sure the issue gets as much attention as possible, you can go on social media to advocate for equal pay and share your own experiences dealing with the pay gap. Van Pelt encourages women to use the hashtag #PaycheckFairness.
SEE ALSO: A survival guide for being a woman on the internet5. Get politically active.
Since this is a systemic issue, the best way to affect change is to try to improve the current laws we have in place. Van Pelt said that one of the best things women can do is advocate for the Federal Paycheck Fairness Act.
Passing the Federal Paycheck Fairness Act "would prohibit employers from using salary history" to determine employees' future salaries, said Van Pelt. "If the woman has had a prior job and she was underpaid in that job, we don’t want employers to base women’s work and their talents on how they were underpaid in the past." The proposed law would also prevent retaliation for discussing pay with colleagues and ensure equal pay for equal work.
The act passed in the House of Representatives, but still needs to pass in the Senate. Van Pelt suggests reaching out to your senator or joining a group to advocate for the act. "Demonstrate in the streets, write letters, write letters to the editor [of a publication]," she explained.
"Employers should make sure that they’re not discriminating against women or taking advantage of women," said Van Pelt. "We need to end that in our culture."
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