Posted by In large cities over the past few years, women, men, and other people have taken to the streets to work for equality. In particular, inequalities between men and women have always been in the center. This makes it seem like there is a glass ceiling for women leaders in the workplace and also makes the wage gap between men and women grow.
A gender wage gap is the average difference between how much men and women who work get paid. The pay gap between men and women hurts women’s financial and economic security and their personal and family lives. It also hurts the working culture and business performance of an organization.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) also put Malaysia at 103th on its 2022 Global Gender Gap Index, behind countries like Laos (53rd) and the Philippines (19th), which are also rising ASEAN states.
Here are 3 ways for women to avoid the wage gap at workplace:
1. Do some research.
When negotiating a salary, it’s important to know what your peers with similar work experience and roles are making. Research the business and determine how much your peers, especially men, make.
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2. When negotiating, emphasize your worth as an employee.
Since raises are not a given, you must be ready to tell your boss why you should get a pay raise. Just telling your boss that your male coworker makes more money won’t be enough to convince him that you deserve the same pay or more. Also, no law in Malaysia stops people from getting paid differently because of gender.
So, getting ready is important. Build your case with the study information you’ve gathered, and highlight your most important contributions, especially those that directly affect the business. Share any praise that your coworkers or clients have given you about the quality and performance of your work.
Instead of making general qualitative comments, giving numbers showing how your work has helped the company will be more convincing. No matter what, you shouldn’t only compare yourself to guys. Saying things like, “He makes more than me, so it’s only fair that I get the same,” can be off-putting and make you look like a child.
3. Simply request a wage increase.
Men are four times more likely than women to ask for a raise. Even when women ask for something, they ask for 30% less than men. The social costs of negotiating also hurt women.
Women should learn to speak up and fight for their rights if they want to lower and close the wage gap between men and women. Men are seen as confident and strong when they bargain for a pay raise. But women might be seen as demanding and pushy when they do the same thing.
It is still important to ask for a raise, mainly if you must deal with these gender biases at work. Women should use more joint words like “we” instead of “I” to reduce these social costs. Even if your boss decides not to raise your salary because budgets are tight or they need to meet stretch goals before they can help build your case to top management, you will have already planted the seed.
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Anisa is a writer who focuses on career and lifestyle topics in an effort to motivate both job searchers and employers towards greater fulfillment in their professional lives.
Reach me at anisa@jobstore.com.