It is often easier to negotiate with our spouses or children than it is with our colleagues or supervisors. In an informal survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review, parents negotiate with their children on average about 6 times a day.

Psychology Today shares that couples in happy marriages tend to negotiate often with one another. When they negotiate, each person has an equal say in the matter and they are demonstrating their commitment to the relationship. Take note that negotiation does not mean a single party or both parties are constantly having to settle or compromise.

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Over the years, there has been a growing awareness that negotiating pay is crucial for women. Despite the increase in awareness, according to a report by Randstad, fifty-seven percent of women have never negotiated their pay. By not negotiating, women are on track to lose out on up to $407,760 over the course of their careers.

But what keeps us from asserting our worth? I did not negotiate for my first salary, because I did not know that I needed to. I also felt that if I did, they would rescind the job offer and I would be penniless. Any money is always better than no money, right? I was not alone in these thoughts. Many women feel the same way. The idea of negotiating salary is rife with confusion, especially if you’ve never held a corporate job before or if you do not have the guidance of a mentor.

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Cultivating a sense of self-worth takes time and understanding of oneself. If you do not understand yourself or how valuable, worthy, and important you are, every negotiation will make you feel like a fish staring at Mt. Everest wondering how you're expected to climb it. Stop letting self-doubt occupy your mind. Step into a world of possibility.

Going into 2022 we’re embracing ourselves and all our quirks. We’re reframing our negative thoughts and shedding the “I’m not good enough” belief.

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Nothing is more powerful at holding us back than fear. And for many women, the idea of negotiating causes a great deal of anxiety.

When things like bias are stacked against us, it can be very easy to develop these feelings. Perhaps it is because we feel a bit like imposters or perhaps we dislike how "confronting" negotiating can feel. No matter what the reason, by not facing our fear we are continuing to lose out on the value we could have claimed.

Fear is a very physical response. When you are afraid, stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline are released. You begin to breathe faster and your heart rate increases. Recognizing this response and understanding how to regulate it is a real and attainable superpower.

Certainly, with time and practice, the common feeling of uneasiness can be overcome. We wanted to dive deeper into these fears. So we asked three of our WIN coaches what they found to be the common fear that is often associated with negotiating and how women, in particular, can overcome that fear.

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Climbing the proverbial ladder in the workplace has never been easy for women, especially minorities and women of color. For many years, women weren’t even afforded the opportunity. In an effort to empower ourselves, we fought to create systems and workplace environments that would deconstruct outdated notions and benefit the next generation.

Now more than ever before women are at the precipice of change.

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Thanksgiving is a more complicated holiday than we grew up having been taught in school. Far from a sunny story of peaceful feasting and cross-cultural encounters, Thanksgiving has a fraught history and rarely gives credence to its painful implications for the Native American population.

Now, exactly four hundred years later, as we celebrate what has turned into a national day of mindfulness, a day of Gratitude, as we come together in small groups and large to express our appreciation for family, friends, freedom, health, etc, we must acknowledge that rarely is the cup either half empty or half full. In actuality, it is both.

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Since the inception of the #MeToo movement in 2006, women have been encouraged to speak up about the injustices they face in the workplace. #MeToo emboldened us to use our voices and trust that our concerns will be addressed. Though there has been some backlash to this, what’s most important to note is that we’re told it’s in our best interests to speak up, but when we do, is anyone listening? Is anyone taking action on our behalf?

When Simone Biles stated in her emotional testimony before Congress, “we have been failed”, she was referring to the lack of action taken by the FBI who heard her story and those of her fellow gymnasts, yet did nothing. This example of ignoring women who speak up about their injustices is not an isolated event. Whether it’s sexual abuse and harassment, gender bias or ageism, there is a pattern of women speaking up about their experiences, yet having their concerns fall on deaf ears.

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When one stops and actually thinks about it: the fact that some women must work through the end of October of the following year to earn the same amount as a man doing the same job, is a crime. It is hard to believe that, on the verge of 2022, we are living in a country where women are still suffering from such pay inequities. As of March of this year, due to the global pandemic’s disproportionate effect on women, dire projections show it will be at least 135 years before women reach equity.

To bring awareness to this issue, WIN’s Executive Director and CEO Daniella Kahane spoke on a panel this week on Equal Pay, hosted by our partner organization WomenWerk. Alongside Ronda Carnegie, the Chief Innovation Officer of The Female Quotient, and Genaira L. Tyce, Esq., Labor & Employment Law Partner, Akerman LLP, and moderated by Nekpen Osuan Wilson, Founder of WomenWerk and WIN Coach and Trainer. This panel of phenomenal professional women discussed salary negotiation, organizational culture in the workplace, and how women could move the needle forward for themselves around pay equity.

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In the coming years, the population of the United States and its workforce will become increasingly more Hispanic. At WIN, we’re constantly advocating for women to raise their voices, evaluate their value, and negotiate for more. Beyond this, we recognize that company policies have a huge role in helping women achieve more in their careers. In honor of Latina Women’s Equal Pay Day, we wanted to highlight 11 companies clearly committed to celebrating and supporting their Hispanic and Latinx employees. From initiatives such as employee resource groups, events, mentorship, and advancement opportunities, these 11 companies that have some of the strongest initiatives to help support the success of their Latina employees.

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As you might know, today is International Day of the Girl.

For this year’s International Day of the Girl we focus on the digital gender gap, something that we, living in the United States with mainstream broad access to the internet, might not think about so often. But the truth is, in many countries, the digital gender gap is extremely pervasive and has been intensified both in severity and in consequence due to the global pandemic and our increased reliance on digital communication.

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How we receive and relay messages is heavily associated with body language and not speech. Anywhere from seventy to ninety-three percent of our communication is non-verbal. While most body language is easily seen and interpreted, as the act of leaning into a table vs. leaning back in a chair, there is one form of expression that happens in such a brief time frame that it is easily overlooked.

We often mask our real emotions. Especially during a negotiation. We’re told that to be an effective negotiator, we need to mask our true intentions. Put on a poker face. Don’t show your hand. Managing and regulating your emotions is an important strategy that can create a lot of value.

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It is no secret that negotiating leads to better outcomes overall for women. A decade ago, women were negotiating at a rate 2-3x LESS than their male peers. Today, women are negotiating at the same rate as men. Although this is a step in the right direction, many women still feel uncomfortable with the thought of negotiating or lack the confidence to speak up. For almost all women, we face what is called the “negotiation penalty”: being seen as too “aggressive”, “pushy”, or “bossy”. As much as women should ask for more, research has shown that women sometimes pay a price for self-advocating.

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The world has made a significant change regarding the treatment of women. Not only with our rights but also with society’s acceptance and acknowledgment of our capabilities as workers. Companies and other organizations are now welcoming female employees, managers, and leaders that used to be the male-dominated positions. The participation of women in the labor force reached 57.4% by 2019, as stated in the report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This proved that we are now slowly finding our positions as significant workers in many industries.

Women might still find some struggles in landing job positions usually seen for men, but more and more of these jobs are becoming more available and female-dominated. Many organizations are now slowly fostering gender equality and giving fairness in their workplace. We have already proven our skills, worth, and undeniable capabilities in many industries. Companies may only gain losses from denying the entries of powerful women in their organizations.

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Yesterday was the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month. Beginning the 15th of every September and lasting until October 15th, this month recognizes and honors the achievements, culture, and contributions of Hispanic Americans. It begins in the middle of the month to coincide with the independence days of many Latin American countries.

Latinas play an important role in the United States and in the workplace. While the world calls out for greater inclusion and representation for minorities, many Latinas don’t exactly feel they can bring their authentic selves to the workplace.

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Last night concluded the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. I have always felt that Rosh Hashanah, poised appropriately at the end of the summer, right as the school year resumes, and the season changes, as a singular holiday. Yes, it involves prayer, festive meals, and family time, but beyond those traditional holiday aspects, it is a time of contemplation, reflection, and of celebration coupled with a heavy weightiness.

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Women’s Equality Day is a day of celebration throughout the United States. Commemorating American women getting the constitutional right to vote, emphasizes the importance of women’s work for democracy.

These issues cannot fall on women’s shoulders alone. We wanted to know what we could do to help progress the cause for greater equity for women across the country. We reached out to a few women across a number of industries and diversity, equity, and inclusion leaders and asked them: What advice do you have for companies or individuals for how women can achieve greater parity in the workplace?

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The first step in any negotiation is preparation. You need to research your counterparty, sear your BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) into your head, and strategize the ZOPA (zone of possible agreements) and your RP (reservation point or walk away point). And, perhaps most importantly, you must prepare your emotions.

Emotions can make or break how we operate in everyday situations, so why would that not apply to negotiation?

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As the Olympics came to a close this Sunday, I began to think of how far women athletes have come in the last 100 years. The adoption of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination at schools or other education programs, took place only 49 years ago. A follow-up to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an Act that was passed to end employment discrimination, Title IX gave young girls equal access to sports programs.

Women have been clearing hurdle after hurdle of discriminatory barriers, striking a balance between what the world expects them to look and sound like while competing on a world stage, and serving win after win, challenging the status quo. After one of the hardest years for working women, families, and the economy, it came to my attention that 2021 has felt different for women in sports. We’ve seen a number of women begin to negotiate for themselves and for others. They have taken time for their mental health, spoken out against injustices, fought for their right to equal pay, and demanded more accessibility as mothers.

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