Up For A Raise? Learn Latest Trends To Get Your Share This Year
The good news is most companies are giving raises this year.
It’s the end of the year, and you may be gearing up to ask for a raise because of excellent performance, salary competitiveness, or even just cost of living. The good news is 84 percent of organizations plan to give base pay increases in 2018.
It may not be much more than raises in 2017, with 73 percent of employers estimating an average of 3 percent or less, according to a new Payscale report on compensation in 2018. The majority of organizations predict that their bonus or incentive budgets will not change in 2018.
“It’s the end of the year. Are you up for a #raise? The good news is that 84% of organizations plan to give base pay increases in 2018.”
Additionally, the survey of more than 7,000 employees and managers of all sizes of organizations in the U.S. and Canada found more than 35 percent are addressing the gender gap in pay.
Read more in Take The Lead on the gender pay gap
The bad news is 63 percent of top-performing organizations have no plans to conduct a race or gender pay equity analysis in 2018.
Harvard University’s Claudia Goldin tells the Christian Science Monitor that there are many factors in play creating the gender gap and they can be changed.
“So the three main reasons that are often found for why differences in pay and occupations and promotions exist by gender are the following. So the first one has to do with bias. So the idea is that managers are biased, supervisors are biased, co-workers are often biased, clients can be bias. Women are perceived to have higher turnover and are often passed over for promotions. And some are the objects of what we call gender paternalism. So it’s, don’t give that job to Isabella because she just had a baby. And so the problem here is treatment by others and the solution is fixed the managers, fix the supervisors.”
Goldin adds, “The second reason is that women don’t negotiate and they don’t compete. They don’t have confidence, they don’t take risks. And the problem here is women are different and the solution is fix the women. And the third one is more general, it’s occupational segregation and the idea is women are just put in lower earning occupations. And the problem here is that the labor market itself is bad and the solution is more general, fix the market.”
According to Payscale, “In 2018, 28 percent of organizations are planning to conduct a racial and/or gender pay equity analysis. For many employers, a strong focus on diversity and inclusion is reflected in an ability to more effectively recruit, retain, motivate, and engage the talent they need.”
Read more in Take The Lead on pay gap
This is less than one-third of the employers surveyed.
Kate Brodock, CEO of Women 2.0, tells CSM, “We feel that the longer term impact we can have will be if we can work with companies as they’re starting and as they’re building teams and as they’re building out their policies. And we really talk about, okay, you’re 10 people, if you’re trying to grow by 20, you have to think about things like code of conduct. You have to think about things like parental leave policies and how is that going to support your workforce. So how is that going to be inclusive, is sort of the buzzword.”
While fairness, diversity and inclusion are indeed buzzwords, Payscale finds that 85 percent of managers have confidence in their ability to explain the rationale behind pay decisions to employees but only 37 percent of organizations share that confidence in their managers.
In addition, 59 percent of organizations said employee retention is a major concern for 2018, compared to 56 percent for 2017.
According to Payscale, “A multiyear study from McKinsey has shown that diversity has bottom-line payoffs: organizations in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians and those in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely. Organizations in the bottom quartile both for gender and for ethnicity and race are statistically less likely to achieve above-average financial returns, according to McKinsey.”
While in some states it is illegal for employers to ask for a salary history, as it may affect starting salaries, a new study says this gap starts as soon as a woman’s first job. So when you ask for a raise this year, you are also rewriting history.
“While in some states it is illegal for employers to ask for a salary history, as it may affect starting salaries, a new study says this gap starts as soon as a woman’s first job. #CloseTheGap”
Read more in Take The Lead on negotiating salary
“Women make 80.5 cents for every dollar a man earns. And it turns out this gender pay gap starts early — as soon as girls are old enough to take on household chores and first jobs, according to a new study by bank and brokerage firm Charles Schwab,” writes Renee Morad in NBC.
“The wage gap starts at home, with boys earning twice as much as girls for doing household chores each week,” Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president at Charles Schwab and daughter of the firm’s founder., tells NBC.
A new study from Major Players “found that almost a quarter (23%) of hiring managers admitted that they have already faced a situation in which a candidate has refused to disclose their salary and 43% stated that they are very likely to implement this initiative for future candidates,” according to Campaign.
Joanne Lucy-Ruming, managing director at Major Players, tells Campaign: “Now, more than ever, candidates expect clarity and discussion regarding the gender pay gap of a potential employer. Employers that demonstrate they take the pay gap seriously and show that they are taking positive action to correct any bias and promote inclusivity are far more successful in not only attracting talent but then retaining them.Companies with a large pay gap are likely to face difficulties when trying to retain staff and hire. A clear action plan of how they are going to rectify the gap is imperative to correct any negative views and regain the trust of current employees.”
Read more in Take The Lead on the pay gap in law
So if you are planning to ask for a raise before year’s end—and now is the time to set up that conversation with a manager or CEO—then come to the meeting prepared.
“If you are planning to ask for a raise before year’s end—and now is the time to set up that conversation with a manager or CEO—then come to the meeting prepared. #PayRaise #PayGap”
“Read about the strategies of salary negotiations in advance before you ever talk to an employer. Face your fears head-on. Do your research. Practice how you’ll handle any salary questions effectively so you can increase your ability to handle these. Roleplay the situation with a coach or friend so you know how to ask an employer to pay you more than originally offered,” writes Robin Ryan in Forbes.
Ryan continues, “A 2018 survey by global staffing firm Robert Half found that only 34 percent of women tried to negotiate a higher salary during their last job offer. Much has been written about why women refrain from trying to negotiate salary. Many career experts believe that it’s a cultural thing, that women who are now in their 50s or 60s were raised to be nice and accept what is given them. But if 30 percent ask, more can sure learn.”
About the Author
Michele Weldon is editorial director of Take The Lead, an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty in journalism at Northwestern University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. @micheleweldonwww.micheleweldon.com