Interesting article about the social cost for a woman who chooses to negotiate her job offer. It is a delicate balance. If you are a woman and negotiating there is a Goldilocks zone that you should try to hit. Don't undersell yourself or that will set the tone for how you are treated once you accept the offer. However, try not to become among the highest paid people in your level. That invites attention and scrutiny disproportionately. Specially, if you want to be bold and take chances on the job itself, break some glass along the way. Being somewhere in the middle of the pack is a good safety net to have for such experiments. You may even garner the support of leadership and they will reward you for your troubles because there is room to grow.
If a woman negotiates a really good deal and then proceeds to makes a bunch of waves, chances are that she will be viewed as problematic and at some point that problem will be resolved in ways that will not be to her liking. Many of these rules don't seem to apply to men and when they do to only some types of men. Outside watching in the dynamic seems to suggest that for men there are in and out groups and what that comprises of varies a great deal by company. Those in the out group can have the same set of challenges as the average woman. Some women do make it to the organizational in group and they prosper a great deal but that is a highly select set. They have moved to the epicenter of the Goldilocks zone through their own efforts combined with the good fortune of having sponsors.
The article has some helpful ideas on how a woman can legitimize her negotiation. Particularly liked this one for younger women "I don’t know how typical it is for people at my level to negotiate, but I’m hopeful that you’ll see my skill at negotiating as something important that I can bring to the job.”
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