What You Need to Know About the Motherhood Penalty

What You Need to Know About the Motherhood PenaltyWhat You Need to Know About the Motherhood Penalty5While you may be familiar with Equal Pay Day in April, did you know there is also an Equal Pay Day for moms in May? While Equal Pay Day in 2017 marked April 4 as the date when all working womens salaries finally caught up to the pay that men received for the previous year, moms Equal Pay Day this year will be celebrated on May 23, since that is how long it takes working moms to catch up.In other words, the typical amount of extra time that it takes working mothers to achieve the monetary equivalent to what working fathers receive in one year is five months. That means working female parents have to work nearly half a year more than their male counterparts for the same pay. (Most women of color have to wait even longer for their paychecks to catch up to mens.)According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), moms typically earn only 73 cents for each dollar dads earn. T his motherhood penalty is a lesser-known part of the gender pay gap.Knowing that dads get a nachschlag but moms get an added financial barrier at work, its important to do what you can to help mitigate this pay gap in your own career by using smart salary negotiation strategies.Here are a few negotiating tips to try andturn the tide on the motherhood penalty, until equal pay legislation catches up to where it needs to beFigure out how much youre worth- and then prove it.Arming yourself with data that shows average salary bands for your exact title and industry position in your area of the country gives you some ammunition to request a fair salary. Be sure that youve thoroughly prepared with facts and figures before entering any stage of salary negotiation, using websites like PayScale and Glassdoor to benchmark and fact-find the numbers you need to know.Dont blow the timing.Asking about money too early in the interview process is a faux pas, as is prematurely answering a recruiter o r hiring managers questions about your current compensation. If pressured to give numbers before youre ready, deflect the question back to your interviewers, seeing if you can get them to spill the beans first about the salary range for the position. The right time to get more specific is after you have a job offer in hand.If current comp is part of the negotiation, be sure to factor in your entire compensation package at the company where you now work- not just base salary, but bonus, equity, overtime pay, and the dollar value of big-ticket items in your benefits package.Avoid caving too soon.While youre no doubt eager to seal the deal and know that you have a new job in the bag, try to project confidence and avoid insecure, instant follow-up that suggests youre overeager to take the first number offered. When waiting for confirmation of your valid and data-driven salary request, silence can be more powerful than checking in to be sure you didnt lose the opportunity, or second-gues sing your ask and offering a lower figure before hearing back on the answer.As Jesse qualm, senior program manager at AAUW said in a recent press statement We know you cant negotiate your way around discrimination. But Rauch added that learning more about salary negotiation can help women take a critical step toward chipping away at their own personal pay gap.