Volunteers learn to help women negotiate better wage
A salary negotiation workshop focused attention Saturday on an extreme wage gap that exists today between men and women across the nation, which can cost the average woman more than $1 million during her lifetime. At the daylong workshop called Catapult, which took place at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa in Farmington, about 50 volunteers learned strategies that they will use to coach women entering the workforce, accepting new positions or seeking promotions in their own companies.
“Women know how to negotiate for other people, their companies, nonprofit organizations and their children, but they don’t seem to know how to apply those same strategies to help themselves in the workplace. We’re hoping to change that,” said Heather Arnet, executive director of the Women and Girls Foundation (WGF) of Southwestern Pennsylvania, one of the organizations that sponsored the workshop.
Explaining the wage gap problem, Arnet gave an example of a man and woman who both accept similar positions at age 30. If the woman accepts a starting salary of $25,000, but the man negotiates a higher wage of $30,000 for the same position, Arnet said that’s when the wage gap problem begins.
If both the man and the woman receive 3 percent raises on a regular basis during their careers, and they both retire in their 60s, Arnet estimated that the man will earn $500,000 more than the woman.
“The gap becomes even wider when men negotiate larger pay increases and receive promotions to higher-paying positions during their careers,” she said. “This wage inequality also affects the women’s pension and retirement savings. This is a very serious issue because most women live longer than men, and they need the money to survive.”
Women in southwestern Pennsylvania earn only 69 percent of every dollar a man makes compared to a statewide average of 73 percent and a nationwide average of 77 percent, according to statistics provided by Arnet.
A study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research examined why the wage gap is greater in southwestern Pennsylvania than it is in other parts of the state and nation, according to Arnet.
“The gender gap appears to be greater in southwestern Pennsylvania than it is in the rest of the country because of industry and manufacturing,” Arnet said. “Women entered the workforce later in this area because of the steel and coal mining industry, which were dominated by men. Even though there aren’t many jobs left in those industries, the wage gap has been very slow to change in southwestern Pennsylvania because of those industries.”
Arnet explained that Catapult is a new program designed to provide women in this region with the negotiation skills they need to close the wage gap. The Women and Girls Foundation (WGF), the Community Foundations of Greene and Fayette counties and the Laurel Business Institute in Uniontown sponsored the salary negotiation workshop.
During the workshop, the women, ranging from about 20 to 60 years of age, were divided into small group sessions. The women listened to lectures and participated in role-playing situations. The volunteers were asked to describe the negotiations that they wanted to conduct, prepare for the session and explain the negotiation tactics that they would use to reach their goals.
Arnet explained that Catapult began last fall when the first workshop was held. A pilot program will be launched, and the program is expected to officially begin in 2008.
“We want to be able to take phone calls on any given day from a woman who will negotiating a salary for a new job, a promotion within her company or taking a position at another company,” she said. “But we need to talk to them ahead of time, so the coach has enough time to plan a specific strategy to help the woman. We also want to help women negotiate for flexible time and maternity leave, which also are very important issues.
“Our goal is to match women up with people in the same sector or people with the same type of job or education who can help them in the negotiation process,” she said. “We’re trying to get the closest match that we can get. We would match an hourly worker in a grocery store with a grocery store manager who could help them. We would match union workers with other union employees. Lawyers would be matched with other people in law firms. Each industry has its own opportunities and challenges that women face during negotiations.”
Clara Pascoe, executive director of the Community Foundation of Fayette County, said the group received a grant from the Benedum Foundation in Pittsburgh to help pay for the workshop. She then asked the Community Foundation of Greene County if they would participate in the event.
“This is a great opportunity for Fayette and Greene counties to partner with the Women and Girls Foundation,” Pascoe said. “This information is very worthwhile, and we’re very excited about the opportunity to bring this to Fayette County.”