In an article titled Knowing When to Ask: The Cost of Leaning In, Christine Exley,
Muriel Niederle and Lisa Vesterlund begin their discussion by asking a question
“should women negotiate their salaries more often? ” (Exley et al. 1).It is
safe to say that the gender wage gap persists, as male employees are being paid
more than female employees even when they work at the same position and have
the same qualifications, experience, and skills. The problem is that women are
not given as much importance as is given to men when it comes to offering good
salary packages. It is also very unfortunate that they are not given as many
family leaves as are usually given to men.
In order to prove their point of view,
Christine Exley, Muriel Niederle and Lisa Vesterlund first conducted a survey
in the United States, and more than 70 percent adults were of the view that it
is women’s right to negotiate salaries before starting any job (Exley et al.
2). Then the experts conducted several laboratory experiments that were meant
to reveal why women avoided situations when they had to negotiate salaries.
This study’s participants got their responses recorded as anonymous as they
were afraid of backlash. However, the results made it clear that women are
being paid lesser than men because they do not bother to negotiate salaries,
meaning they accept the job even when it does not pay them according to their
qualifications, skills, and experience. The basic problem is that unemployed
women are always ready to compromise or adjust on low-paying jobs, which is why
they are often pushed behind the competition, and their male counterparts end
up landing well-paying jobs.
The empirical results of this paper support
the findings of authors because we have been provided with enough examples of
why women are paid lower than men while working in the same position and in the
same company. First of all, during a job interview, women are often asked to describe
themselves before a male manager or HR officer, and they often get confused and
do not speak of their minds especially when they are inexperienced. Salary
negotiation is possible where they are being interviewed by a female
interviewer or boss or are given enough freedom to say anything that comes
across their minds. However, in most situations, they remain nervous and end up
accepting low-paying job offers. Another reason is that the rate of
unemployment among women is higher than the rate of unemployment among men. We
should not forget that the problem of salary discrimination can be solved only
if women know when, why, and how to ask for better pays. If they keep
compromising on low-paying jobs, then it will never be possible for them to get
what they actually deserve.
Christine, Muriel, and Lisa also provide
enough potential explanations regarding why it is important to create a
negotiation environment (Exley et al. 4). It can easily be said that if
potential candidates (both men and women) are allowed to share their ideas or
opinions while being interviewed, it will be easy for the hiring manager to
understand what they actually want or deserve in terms of salary. In most
situations, we see that companies or hiring managers provide an idea of what salary
package will be offered for a specific job. For example, there is an opening position
at a reputable American company. The range of salary for this position is $6 to
$10 per hour, and the candidate is frequently asked to work for twenty to forty
hours every week. The chance is that a male candidate will negotiate the
salary, but the female candidate will not. This is because females hesitate to
negotiate salaries or are afraid of losing a chance of getting hired. This is
why every company should provide candidates with a negotiation environment.
In conclusion, we can say that the paper’s
empirical results are externally valid because the ideas presented here are
applicable to all situations and all companies. First of all, women should be
familiar with their rights. If they hesitate during a job interview, they might
not get a good salary. This issue can be addressed by seeing whether the base
pay is up to the mark. If it is enough, there is no need to negotiate the
salary, and then the focus of anapplicant should be on answering the
interviewer’s questions correctly and confidently. Another thing female
employees should take care of is that they are well-prepared. Salary
negotiation is possible when they prove their worth and leave a good impression
on the hiring manager, making them think that this female candidate can perform
far better than her male counterpart. In fact, the experiences of two female
employees I interviewed (Emma and Yuhe) are good testimonies to the author's
point of view. Yuhe said she had never negotiated a salary because she was
afraid of the negative impact of her unsuccessful negotiation; on the contrary,
Emma was a confident and competent person at work. In terms of salary
negotiation, the answer she gave me was that she had successfully negotiated
her salary. Compared with other colleagues, she thought her ability and
workload were much higher than the current salary level. In fact, her work
ability has been recognized by her supervisor, so she successfully negotiated a
salary increase. In short, we can say that if women are experienced, skilled,
and qualified enough to have a right to negotiate salaries, they should go for
it and should not compromise at any cost. This is how we can address the issue
of the gender pay gap by the whole.
Work Cited
Exley, Christine, et al. “Knowing When to
Ask: The Cost of Leaning In.” 2018, doi:10.3386/w22961.
