Male Colleagues Earning More? How to initiate the pay rise conversation.

by Jenny Garrett | Jan 13, 2017

Don't be afraid to initiate the pay rise conversation - earn what you're worth!

Don't fall behind your male colleagues

This week the U.K Office of National Statistics (ONS) released a Gender Pay Gap tool. You can check your profession and see how much women are likely to be earning compared to their male counterparts. For example in the UK if you are a female Civil Engineer, you may earn slightly more than your male colleagues, however if you are a female senior professional in an educational establishment, your male colleagues could be earning up to 20% more than you. [Tweet "So it could be time for the pay rise conversation."]

Read: Equal Education = Equal Pay? The Gender Wage Gap

Encouragingly some organisations have proactively sought to close the gap, such as Essex University who provided one-off pay rises to female staff to close the gender pay gap.

Also, subject to parliamentary approval, big employers will be required to publish data on their gender pay gaps from April 2017, this transparency will surely mean that the gap reduces. After all, what gets measured, gets done.

It can be hard to know if your employer is paying you equally

Read: Smart negotiation tips for every career stage

But what do you do if you are not working for a large enlightened employer and suspect your male colleagues are earning more? Well, if you have clear and documented evidence you can seek legal advice. However it’s usually not so easy, as many organisations don't permit staff to share their salary information and you may worry that there will be negative repercussions as a result of bringing the topic up. If that’s the case, I recommend that you take the angle of requesting a pay-rise; here are my 7 tips to initiate the pay rise conversation:

Use the Gender Pay Gap Tool to share the going rate for your job
Gather as much information as possible, testimonials, feedback from colleagues, suppliers and customers.
Demonstrate that you’ve made a real difference through: cost savings, improved performance or financial growth.
Doing your job well is expected, show that you have exceeded expectations and are already working at the next level.
Get yourself an influential champion, sponsor, mentor or coach, someone who has the boss’s ear and someone who can help you work out the right way to go about things in your work environment.
Schedule a meeting to discuss your pay-rise, don’t just slip it in to an existing meeting, help your boss prepare so that it isn’t a surprise.
Lastly, don’t make threats; if you push your boss, he or she is likely to push back. You want to leave the door open for further discussion.

Ultimately know your value and help others to value your contribution and pay you what you are worth.

Originally posted on LinkedIn on Dec 11 2016

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Jenny Garrett Subscriber

? Awarded APCTC Women's Coach of the Year 2014 ? Author of 'Rocking Your Role', guide to success for female breadwinners. ? LinkedIn UK Top 10 Power Woman 2013 ? Finalist Entrepreneur of Excellence National Diversity Awards 2014 ? Worked with Nivea & Stylist Magazine on #BringItOn 30 Campaign ? BBC Expert Voices: http://bit.ly/BBCBAMEExpertVoices I am passionate about people development that incorporates work & life, underpinned by research, theory & heart. Individuals and Organisations - Get in touch for - Inspiring, energetic and thought-provoking talks, workshops, facilitation, panel discussions, one to one coaching and blogs on the following themes: ? Women & Work ? Diversity & Inclusion ? Entrepreneurship ? Leadership Development ? Coaching & Mentoring Skills ? Female Breadwinners ? Work Life Balance Media Highlights: Radio 4?s Woman’s Hour, BBC You & Yours, the Telegraph, Women's Weekly, Marie Claire, Glamour Magazine. Blogger for the Huffington Post UK Recent Clients: Ernst & Young, ? American Express, ? Accenture ? Societe Generale ? Leadership Foundation for Higher Education ? First State Investments ? Shell ? People tell me that I am motivational and inspirational. I view my style as incisive, pragmatic, and supportive. My aim is to enable you, to penetrate to the heart of the matter in order to move forward in a focused and expeditious way. At the heart of all I do is the underpinning of being an experienced and qualified coach who has regular supervision to keep growing and developing in my practice. I hold Level A and Level B qualifications with the BPS which qualifies me to administer and provide feedback on a number of psychometric instruments including MBTI step I, 16 PF, Firo B, Leadership Judgement Indicator, Wave, Implicitly and Insights. ? http://www.rockingyourrole.com (Women Specific) ? http://www.reflexion-uk.co.uk (Leadership) ? http://www.happenistaproject.com (Online Coaching Programme) ? http://www.rockingurteens.com (Youth)

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