{"id":40891,"date":"2014-05-29T14:00:08","date_gmt":"2014-05-29T18:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/?p=40891"},"modified":"2015-07-20T12:12:40","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T16:12:40","slug":"leaning-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2014\/05\/29\/leaning-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaning In"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sheryl
Sheryl Sandberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The May Quarterly Networking Event at Stevenson Ridge found us viewing Sheryl\u2019s Sandberg\u2019s TED Talk on Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders. If you haven\u2019t seen it yet, I\u2019d encourage you to take 15 minutes to view it. THEN I recommend that you purchase Sheryl\u2019s book, Lean In<\/a><\/em>, and read it. While I liked the talk and book because of their contents, I\u2019m not sure any ideas presented were new, but the ideas were supported by lots of research that, for this academic, gave proof!<\/p>\n

For example, I had never really thought about the differences between men and women when offered a job. Let\u2019s say a woman is offered a job with a $100,000 salary and standard benefits. Her response, at least internally, is \u201cthis is how much I am worth.\u201d She\u2019s content to be compensated for what she\u2019s worth, so she takes the job without considering that she might be worth a wee bit more. She doesn\u2019t even consider asking for additional benefits. Remember, the company offered her what she\u2019s worth!<\/p>\n

Conversely, when a man is offered the same position with the same salary and benefits, he thinks, \u201cOK, this is the beginning.\u201d He counters with a higher salary and perhaps asks for additional benefits. It\u2019s almost like a negotiating GAME to the man who, in many instances, ends up with higher salary than the woman AND with better benefits\u2026 BECAUSE HE ASKED! And you can bet the hiring manager will not return to the woman and increase her salary and benefits to match the man\u2019s. So the salary gap widens.<\/p>\n

Have you seen this? I certainly have seen women take the first offer. Not me! As a former sales professor, I\u2019m all about negotiating and I encourage everyone to negotiate anything you can (especially buying a car, but I digress!). Put your MAN HAT on and negotiate your next salary. YOU CAN DO IT\u2014and you\u2019ll be LEANING IN.<\/p>\n