Women who negotiate are considered greedy

Tonight, I went to a women’s mentorship networking event. I’ve been attending these type events more and more lately. During the meeting, I made a comment that women should be more transparent with their pay to help other women and that we should always negotiate our salaries.

After the meeting ended, several women rushed up to me wanting to connect to learn how to negotiate. One was a young girl about to graduate college. She asked how to handle answering the question about what to say for previous salary. Another older woman wanted to go back to corporate America after being a business owner for 20 years. She wanted to learn how to navigate that process and she doesn’t know pay scales. A third girl said she was working a contract job and just took the pay they gave her because she didn’t want to sound entitled. What?

When a company interviews you and gives you a job offer, bring it on! They’ve made it clear that they want you. I feel like a broken record:

Ladies, negotiate your worth, not just what you can get. Know your value. Be prepared.

Men who negotiate are considered ambitious. Women who negotiate are considered greedy. — said Caroleen

Good grief. This is so lopsided. The stigma against women wanting more money is wild. I’ve never met a woman who didn’t eat or need a place to live or had bills to pay. Why would a woman need less money than a man? In fact, I was a single mother for thirteen years. I needed MORE money then most men.

Tangent: How many single fathers do you know? I don’t have the statistic but I’m guessing in most cases of divorce, the children are with the mother more. Would a single father be considered greedy for negotiating a higher salary? I doubt it. So why would a single mother be considered greedy for negotiating for more money? She is the sole breadwinner. She is the only source of income. Been there, done that. It’s not easy.

Negotiate your worth! You are valued!