No Gender Gap: Issue #1
No Gender Gap: Issue #1
$116,000 Average Salary, the Girlboss Fantasy, 3 Quick Tips for Negotiating
I created the No Gender Gap newsletter to help the female-identifying workforce to better understand their worth. My name is Lizzie Kardon and I am an advocate for working women, a deep thinker, and a digital marketer working in technology with over a decade of experience.
I proudly send this first issue to 209 subscribers (that’s you!) who have trusted me with their contact information to provide value in their inbox.
I don’t take that lightly.
Thank you for being here and for helping me to evolve this process of sharing my thoughts and content selections that I’ve deemed valuable to our community.
This week, paid subscribers can also:
Get job listings from progressive companies that I have vetted, with the ability to request jobs specific to their area of expertise.
Send specific questions for women in leadership. Interviews begin in next week’s newsletter with Allison Esposito Medina, CEO of Tech Ladies.
Share a link, article, or press mention with my network, approved by me in advance of sharing.
Ask me for a specific data insight from the Salary Transparency Project.
I’m keeping the below content free for the bulk of my audience base so far. I hope after reading you will consider a paid monthly or yearly option. If that’s you, subscribe below.
I don’t get paid for this otherwise. But, I see the value in putting in the 15+ (an rapidly increasing) hours each week outside of my normal workday, and time spent with my husband and babies.
Always know your worth,
Lizzie Kardon
*Compared to their male counterparts
Data points have been normalized and adjusted to reflect USD based on the exchange rate on February 28, 2020. Averages are rounded down.
These insights come from a self-reported sample of over 1,750 in the Women in Tech Salary Transparency Project 2020.
Quick Tips for Negotiating from an Expert
Alexandra Carter is a Columbia Law professor of mediation and negotiation and the author of the upcoming book Ask for More (which I can’t promote with a link because I haven’t read it yet). She has great, quick advice for negotiations that are easy to implement and take into your next meeting, even if it’s 20 minutes from now.
The greatest source of strength in negotiation is knowledge. When you know yourself, and understand the person across the table, you negotiate from a position of strength and clarity.
Leading each negotiation with questions helps your bottom line & helps you connect to people in a way that can transform relationships.
[When it comes to a new job], by treating the entire interview process as one large negotiation, by the time you get to talking about money or telework you will have already laid the foundation for how they think about you, your value and your potential.
The Conversations We’re Having
“Girl, have the babies.” Amy Nelson, founder and CEO of The Riveter, asked working women for advice to their younger selves. Thousands responded with pure gold insights. She also wrote about it for Inc. The advice you need for what currently ales you is probably in the Twitter thread.
“…the first few times I was in a board meeting I thought, ‘Why is this my career? Where I put myself in harm’s way every day and I have to present in front of people in high stakes?’” Judy John, global CCO at an A-list ad agency is interviewed on AdAge’s podcast and shares how she handles social awkwardness as an introvert in an industry full of extroverts. V relatable.
Dismantling the Funloving Fantasy of Being a Girlboss
Audrey Gelman, CEO of The Wing approached her recent op-ed in Fast Company differently than many other founders have before. Instead of pumping her brand’s larger-than-life wins, she drew back the curtain on what she’s gotten wrong as a female in a leadership role.
“As more women, people of color, and other marginalized groups continue to step into positions of leadership, it seems necessary to project an image of flawlessness, knowing that we won’t be allowed to fail in the ways that our white, male, cisgender counterparts do—stupendously and repeatedly.”
Brands like The Wing, along with coined terms like Girlboss were born out of intentions to empower females. Instead, I believe, they have at times given off a sense of fun-loving, fancy, and effortless growth or success with college-style “girl’s nights out” along the way. I know feminism is at the core of these brands, but they have continued to support the longstanding stereotypes of women in business and thus, have made it less comfortable for us to admit and grow from our failures.
It seems we still haven’t cracked the code on balancing the fine line of standing up for ourselves as women without continuing to stereotype ourselves and our professional efforts.
Women in the Headlines
Hulu’s Marketing Chief, Kelly Campbell promoted to President after her male counterpart stepped down.
Erika James will be both the first woman and African-American to lead Wharton, the 139-year-old Ivy League business school.
👏👏👏
I’ve created this newsletter to help women in the workforce to better know their worth. Follow me on Twitter and always feel welcome to message me directly on LinkedIn.
Header image is from Open Peeps.
Please share this newsletter with anyone who could benefit.