The previous two posts focus mainly on strategies to fight against gender pay gap as a leader in an organization. Of course, you can also do something as an individual. Women have power than they know it. Therefore, women can do many things with the power. Women have much potential that men actually do not have. They include how much they are paid.

Fighting Against Gender Pay Gap as Individual

The following are things you can do as an individual to close, or at least narrow, the wage gap between men and women at workplace.

Self-Evaluation

The first things you can do are valuing and evaluating what you can do. You need to know how you deserve to be paid every month. Of course, you need a thorough understanding of what you are doing. You deserve a payment that matches the impacts you can make. Therefore, be honest about your capacity.

Building Your Capacity

Make sure to work on your capacity. You can take risks at your capacity. If you want to take more risks, make sure to increase your capacity. This way, you can be a strong negotiator for your salary. Many people actually avoid negotiating their salary because they fear uncomfortable conversations or rejection. Sometimes, the hardships they face to get the job retain them from negotiating something that they actually deserve.

Business Vs Employee Approach

All employees are waiting for their manager to recognize their potentials and values and offer them new, better opportunities anytime. They always wait for promotion and pay increases. “Waiting” means a passive approach to your wage. Why not taking a business mentality. View your job as your business. Then, your manager and other fellow employees are just like customers you need to serve.

Avoiding Over Identification

It is true that you need to identify the existing and potential pay gaps at your workplace. However, do not over identify it. Do not insist on saying that the gender pay gap applies to you. This does not aim at discrediting the challenges in front of you. Instead, this aims at framing your brain to believe that you are paid as your deserve it.

If you focus too much on what is not fair in front of you, you will actually lose the focus. Instead of creating new ways to earn more money, you will spend much energy and time to survive your plight. You will respond differently when you view yourself equal to men from you will when you view yourself different. Instead of feeling offended due to the pay gap, you will see it as an opportunity for negotiation.

Building Financial Intelligence

Money can be an interesting discussion for many people. Discussion about it may involve emotion and culture aspects. In traditional community, women were discouraged from discussing financial matters. But as the gender pay gap exists, women are now encouraged to be literate about financial matters.

Finally, women need to know how to discuss money and connect it to the services they provide at workplace. Being a negotiator is a great leap forward. This is a strategic way to close the gender pay gap at your workplace.