Women urged to stop underselling themselves

Media release                                                                                                    26 June 2009

Women urged to stop underselling themselves

Women need to be more confident about promoting themselves, highlighting their skills and negotiating for what they are worth if they want to overcome perceptions of pay inequality, says a senior Auckland recruitment consultant.

In a recent international survey by Robert Half 65% of New Zealand women respondents said they think that men are paid more than women for doing the same job.

But in the latest Robert Half podcast, senior manager Megan Alexander says she does not see employers discriminating against women this way. However, she frequently sees female candidates underselling themselves
“What I do see is that women take themselves out of higher-paying jobs because of the other choices they make in their personal lives,” she says. As a result, fewer women than men tend to apply for higher-paying jobs.

As well, she says that women often don’t sell their skills as effectively as men do.

“I do think that women need to learn to sell themselves better … they sell themselves short in a lot of instances, they don’t talk about what they can bring to the role enough.

This also occurs in pay reviews for existing employees, says Ms Alexander. Many women are not confident about asking in reviews what they need to do to win a pay rise and advance their career.

“Because they don’t go in and ask and don’t self-promote – they tend to hang back – that’s when they don’t get recognition.”

But employers also have their part to play in communicating candidly with female employees about what their aspirations are, what their career paths could be, and what they need to do to achieve them, she says.

“I think employers don’t spend enough time doing that.”

It is also important for women to get appropriate mentoring, from people who can help them balance their career and personal aspirations, so they don’t have to compromise one for the other, she says.

As well, many organisations are missing out on a significant pool of talent by not investigating how some roles can be filled by people who wanted to job share, work flexible hours or sometimes work from home.

“I think a lot of organisations dismiss these ideas and say it won’t work, but have they really tried?” she asks.

Ms Alexander says that even though she does not see pay discrimination happening, “perception is reality”, and employers need to ensure that their processes are fair and seen to be fair.

“An employer never wants to have their brand reputation put into jeopardy. It’s really, really important that it’s demonstrated that women have the same fair and equal opportunities as men and vice versa.”

To achieve this, employers need to ensure that “everyone gets a fair go, based on their skill set and what they bring to the organisation”.

The Robert Half podcast on Women in the Workplace is available for download at http://rhiwatch.viotv.com

Creating a level playing field

Tips for women

·         Express your opinions and communicate openly. Selling yourself means being able to offer clear, concise opinions to your co-workers and managers. You can improve your communication skills and boost your own confidence by giving presentations, joining public speaking classes, etc.

·         If you are going for a promotion, find out what you need to win it. Ask your employer for honest feedback about what might stop you from getting it and what you have going in your favour. Then take steps to remedy the areas you fall short in.

·         When you apply for a promotion, make sure you give specific examples of what you bring to the role. Talk about successes you have had in the past and how they enhance your ability to handle the new role.

·         If you want a pay increase, do your homework before you approach your employer. Find out what the market rate for your role is and be prepared to give specific reasons why you are worth what you are asking for.

Tips for employers

·         Offer a mentoring programme. Women (and most employees, for that matter) find it much easier succeed in their jobs and move their careers forward under the guidance of a good mentor. A good mentor helps women feel comfortable in your organisation and gives them the knowledge and the confidence they need to excel.

·         Genuinely look at how you can be flexible in your employment structure so that women (and men) with important care-giving roles can contribute to your organisation and continue to advance. Job sharing, flexible hours and working from home are mainstream in many organisations – look for ways to make them work in yours.

·         Give honest feedback to all employees about their strengths, and what weaknesses they need to work on to advance further in your organisation. Then make it possible for them to address those weaknesses.

·         When a position becomes vacant, ensure all those who wish to apply for it know precisely what you are looking for, so they can realistically measure themselves against that standard to decide to apply.

·         Communicate with all your talented employees about their goals and what they want for their futures. Each individual is different, whether male or female, and what you think they want may not be what they are looking for at all.

Ends

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