Bloomberg Businessweek's recent The Perfect Husband cover story highlights a shift we are seeing in families where women are the primary breadwinner. The trend will likely continue as women are obtaining degrees and graduate degrees at a higher rate than men, and our economy is placing a greater emphasis on service. Yet, women continue to lag behind men in terms of compensation and we do not appear to be making great strides in recent years. Earlier this week I was a guest on First Business with Bill Moller to discuss this issue.
While lawsuits do help, most women executives with whom I have worked would prefer to be paid on merit, not because the law requires equal pay but because pay should be based on qualifications, effort and results. The main point that I tried to highlight during the interview is that women need to ask for the pay their deserve and stop undervaluing their contributions.
The next step you are negotiating an employment agreement, think big and then ask for more.
