BBC News Article: Why XX must think like XY to earn more K

ROSE Blog: Rikki's Open Source Exchange
Marilyn Davidson, a professor of work psychology at Manchester Business School, wrote an excellent article about salary differences between men and women: Why XX must think like XY to earn more K
Before reading the article, you can take a little quiz to see whether your answers show more of a male or female tendency. Marilyn's article reinforces salary negotiation and assertiveness suggestions from my recent Her PR Problem article.
Based on students responses to her questions about what they expect to earn vs. what they deserve to earn, Marilyn writes, "On average the men think they deserve £10,000 more a year than the women – that's 25% more than the women think they're worth – a staggering figure."
Again we see the issue of assertiveness vs. aggressiveness. "Partly women fear being too aggressive and feisty – which can be viewed as negative in the workplace – but I think it's more complex," Marilyn writes. "It is part of our conditioning that men equate money with status and power but women see job satisfaction as more of an issue."
Okay, considering our current economy, maybe right now isn't the best time to go negotiate for a pay raise. It is the perfect time to start positioning yourself to make more money, however. Ask yourself: What skills are you bringing to your current position? How can you make yourself even more of an asset and indispensable? What do online salary surveys say about your current position, in your region of the country, with your level of experience? What additional skills and experience could you start adding to your resume?
After you've done a little more salary-negotiation homework and preparation, answer the question, "Now what do you think you deserve to earn?"
Comments
comments powered by DisqusIssue 270/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
CarbonOS: A New Linux Distro with a Focus on User Experience
CarbonOS is a brand new, built-from-scratch Linux distribution that uses the Gnome desktop and has a special feature that makes it appealing to all types of users.
-
Kubuntu Focus Announces XE Gen 2 Linux Laptop
Another Kubuntu-based laptop has arrived to be your next ultra-portable powerhouse with a Linux heart.
-
MNT Seeks Financial Backing for New Seven-Inch Linux Laptop
MNT Pocket Reform is a tiny laptop that is modular, upgradable, recyclable, reusable, and ships with Debian Linux.
-
Ubuntu Flatpak Remix Adds Flatpak Support Preinstalled
If you're looking for a version of Ubuntu that includes Flatpak support out of the box, there's one clear option.
-
Gnome 44 Release Candidate Now Available
The Gnome 44 release candidate has officially arrived and adds a few changes into the mix.
-
Flathub Vying to Become the Standard Linux App Store
If the Flathub team has any say in the matter, their product will become the default tool for installing Linux apps in 2023.
-
Debian 12 to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.27
The Debian development team has shifted to the latest version of KDE for their testing branch.
-
Planet Computers Launches ARM-based Linux Desktop PCs
The firm that originally released a line of mobile keyboards has taken a different direction and has developed a new line of out-of-the-box mini Linux desktop computers.
-
Ubuntu No Longer Shipping with Flatpak
In a move that probably won’t come as a shock to many, Ubuntu and all of its official spins will no longer ship with Flatpak installed.
-
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta Now Available
The final version of the Leap 15 series of openSUSE is available for beta testing and offers only new software versions.
need vs. want
I wonder how common it is for people to be in a situation where they are able to say they don't need and/or want to earn more money. For example, as a single mother, I never earned anything near what would have been comfortable each month. We weren't eating cat food, but I did have my utilities turned off more than once (ok, many, many times, actually). And even now with two incomes, we still can't buy clothing fast enough for our daughter (who eats like a locust, by the way, so I can't keep enough groceries in the house for that rapidly growing girl, either). Pre-teens are expensive, I tell ya!
Or maybe some of us are just bigger consumers, but I imagine there are plenty of folks working in IT who never think they earn enough to keep up with the newest Kindles, netbooks, iPhones, doo-dads, or favorite print magazine subscriptions.
On the other hand, I'd love to reach a point where I can say, "That's ok, I don't need to earn that much. What would I do with all that extra money?"
Need v. Want v. Deserve
When I was asked to think about how much I wanted for my current job, I asked DevChix what the usual rate was. "Figure out how much you need to make, and go from there" was a common response. I wonder if that leads us to go for lower pay since we don't really *need* much more. I took the original offer the company gave me; it was the same amount I was going to request.