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Why aren't women getting pay rises?

Amber Thomas

A poll of 2,000 people carried out by Good Money Week (a campaign which shines a light on ethical finance) found 41 per cent of men have talked about a salary rise with their manager in the last six month, whereas just a third of women have. Nearly a fifth of men will request a rise twice or more each year and only eight per cent of women will do the same. More than a quarter of women have never requested a pay rise and women are substantially more likely to find the process of doing so “awkward”. 



Sam Smethers, chief executive of women’s rights organisation Fawcett Society, said: ”Women spend their lives conditioned not to be ‘pushy’ and to put others before themselves, so it’s not surprising that this plays out in the workplace." 


But is this the whole story? Not exactly... Smethers went on to say "Research has shown that even when women do ask for a pay rise they are judged more harshly than men and less likely to get one. We need a much more open conversation about pay at work so that women can know if they are being paid equally and fairly.”



Charlene Cranny, campaigns director at Good Money Week, said: “Our research suggests that men have no qualms in instigating these conversations with employers more regularly and in turn, they are receiving higher and more regular pay rises, and we feel that it is time to readdress the balance. There are larger structural issues at play for why women are often paid less than men, but there is definitely something to be said for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Get’. Men are still socialised to ‘win’ and ‘provide’ so feel empowered (twice as likely!) and excited about asking for a pay rise. These are seen as very masculine traits which women often reject or differentiate from by seeing the pursuit of money as ‘icky’, ‘vulgar’, caring more about their performance and impact. However, research shows that women are much more likely to use their money in ways that have a positive impact on people and the environment. That makes it our duty as women to increase our wealth through deserved pay rises, investments and other available means normally dominated by men. Not only are [women] potentially missing out on pay rises, but this reluctance to ‘be a bother’ to their employers could also mean that their pension funds are being invested in companies that do not marry up with their values. Women have huge potential in the world of ethical and sustainable finance.”



The campaign, which runs from 5 to 11 October is calling for people to approach their employers about issues such as flexible working, shared parental leave and the gender pay gap – as well as salary rises.


Cheryl Giovannoni, CEO of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) and the 10th best-paid charity chief in the country, told a conference of headteachers that girls and young women must learn to be “financially independent and clear about their own worth”. 



Giovannoni said: “If you look at the statistics, girls outperform boys at school, they outperform them at university and they start to fall behind very early on in their careers. Within the first 10 years, they are lagging significantly behind the pay of men for the same work. One of the things we work really hard on in our schools is giving girls the confidence to see their self worth … whether they are confident enough to ask for what they believe they’re worth is not always the case.”


Julie Keller, the head of Nottingham Girls High School, stressed the importance of financial education in schools, including discussions about pay equality and role play to help girls develop the confidence to express their opinions and make demands. “It’s linked often to perfectionism in girls. They won’t want to ask for that pay rise or they won’t want to go for that promotion ... The evidence will show, they have to be absolutely sure they’re going to get it before they’ll ask for it or go for it. It’s something we have to always tackle at school, especially in a girls’ school,” she said.


Have you asked for a pay raise in the past 12 months? If not, why not? If yes, how did it go? Please share your tips and experience on approaching pay rises at work.


Read more:
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/more-quarter-women-never-asked-230100334.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pay-rise-women-work-awkward-gender-pay-gap-a9147931.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/19/girls-should-be-taught-at-school-how-to-ask-for-pay-rise-says-female-ceo




  • 0
    I've only asked for a pay rise once in my working life and that was as a group (all women). If I'm honest, I'm not sure I would've done it, if not in that group. Some of us got it, some didn't...


    The part of the research which shows that women fall behind within 10 years unsurprising but interesting. Certain people like to write away the gender pay gap, saying it is due to motherhood (ie 'a preference for part time'), but the fact that it happens so early on in women's careers as well, (with women increasingly having children later) shows that this is not necessarily the case
  • 0

    Natalia D'lima:

    I've only asked for a pay rise once in my working life and that was as a group (all women). If I'm honest, I'm not sure I would've done it, if not in that group. Some of us got it, some didn't...




    Great to see strength in numbers, but surprising to hear that the outcome was different for different people in the group - why was this? (Length of service? experience? performance? pushiness?) And how did it affect the group dynamic after some were successful and others were not? You say that you would probably not have asked if you were on your own - really interested to know the reasons behind this? Is this due to confidence? Is this because of not wanting to rock the boat? Or did you feel that you were already being paid fairly? Or was it, as the article suggests, to avoid having an "awkward" conversation? In light of the campaign, and in light of your previous experience of requesting a raise, do you think that you will be likely to ask for a pay raise in the next 12 months?

     




    The part of the research which shows that women fall behind within 10 years is unsurprising but interesting. Certain people like to write away the gender pay gap, saying it is due to motherhood (ie 'a preference for part time'), but the fact that it happens so early on in women's careers as well, (with women increasingly having children later) shows that this is not necessarily the case 




    This is a really good point. It starts way before parenthood, parenthood just extends the gap even further. There is an interesting report on parenthood and the pay gap that was referenced in another discussion posted in in the IET Women's Network (See Man up and take your paternity leave). The report (by the TUC) found that fathers working full-time get paid a fifth more than men with similar jobs who don’t have children. The report shows that dads who work full-time experience, on average, a 21% ‘wage bonus’ and that working fathers with two kids earn more (9%) than those with just one. The findings are in stark contrast to the experience of working mothers, says the report. Women who become mothers before 33 typically suffer a 15% pay penalty.


    A recent poll by the Fawcett Society suggests that public opinion in the UK reflects this bias, with more than a quarter (29%) of respondents saying dads are more committed to their jobs after having a baby – and almost half of those who answered (46%) saying they think women are less committed to their work after becoming parents. 

    Read more at: https://www.tuc.org.uk/equality-issues/gender-equality/equal-pay/pregnancy-discrimination/fathers-working-full-time-earn-21)

  • 0

    Amber Thomas:




    Natalia D'lima:

    I've only asked for a pay rise once in my working life and that was as a group (all women). If I'm honest, I'm not sure I would've done it, if not in that group. Some of us got it, some didn't...




    Great to see strength in numbers, but surprising to hear that the outcome was different for different people in the group - why was this? (Length of service? experience? performance? pushiness?) And how did it affect the group dynamic after some were successful and others were not? You say that you would probably not have asked if you were on your own - really interested to know the reasons behind this? Is this due to confidence? Is this because of not wanting to rock the boat? Or did you feel that you were already being paid fairly? Or was it, as the article suggests, to avoid having an "awkward" conversation? In light of the campaign, and in light of your previous experience of requesting a raise, do you think that you will be likely to ask for a pay raise in the next 12 months?

     






    We never got an official answer to the differences in pay increases, but we suspected it was because of our starting pay ie those on higher salary to begin with didn't get a rise. It didn't affect the group dynamic too radically, but it didn't help our impression of the company


    For me, it was to avoid having an awkward conversation, but I definitely think that experience helped as it would make me less nervous/ concerned about asking for a raise in the future



    Transparency in pay grades is really important. It's hard to know if you deserve a pay rise without a benchmark. The IET introduced defined pay grades in the past 2 years and I think that is a really positive move

     

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