Research shows that women who initiate negotiations do come across as pushy, unlikeable, and undesirable team members, and the women in our study expressed their discomfort in creating this impression. Their reluctance may come from a well-founded fear that if they did ask, they would incur backlash. Many told us that just having the confidence to ask for more was challenging. The women we interviewed were often reluctant to self-advocate for their career advancement in negotiations. Challenge #1: Balancing self-advocacy and communality Through our research, we have identified evidence-based recommendations to help women develop new skills and build the confidence and resilience you need to overcome them.
Professional development: to attend conferences, reduce work days in order to study, or become involved in higher level executive meetings.
Work resources: to gain support for a new position within the organization, restructure their team, change reporting lines, extend a handover period, or obtain a system upgrade.Other than pay and promotion, the three most common kinds of negotiations were for: Twenty-two of the women told us about their experience negotiating pay or promotions, but many also talked about the smaller negotiations with coworkers and managers that punctuate their workdays. In their interviews, they told us what the negotiation was about, who they negotiated with, and how the negotiation affected their relationship with the other person. The majority (81%) had an undergraduate qualification, and their ages ranged from 29 to 64 years. Our interviewees worked in metropolitan cities, primarily in large organizations with more than 500 employees, and most frequently in health (23%) or government (21%). We interviewed 84 women about a significant negotiation that they had been through in the previous year. In a recent field study, my colleagues I examined how women experience these everyday negotiations.
We use negotiations to help our selves, our team members, and manage our work as we move towards our goals. Employees negotiate to gain more flexible work arrangements, access development opportunities, or define new roles. Managers negotiate to secure resources for their teams, create new positions, or retain existing ones. Small negotiations are woven through the fabric of our everyday working lives.