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Closing the Wage Gap Rocking Your World

By Victoria Pynchon

As the June 10 negotiation workshop in Pasadena nears, I realize that the one force keeping our attendance low is the same force the workshop is designed to (and will inevitably) resolve: the effect of the recession on women's already reduced earning power.

Although the negotiation workshops I'm currently running - in Pasadena on the 10th and online starting today at Craving Balance - are profit making ventures - I have more at stake here than simply earning speaking fees.

And so do you.

What's at stake is women's economic power. Your economic power.

That's why I'm offering readers of this blog a 2-for-1 entry to either seminar.  

Why this is Mission Critical

The wage and income gap is stuck at 33% despite the gains made by women in business and the professions over the past thirty years. That's simply unacceptable to me. And because I know the reason why, I've committed myself to spreading the word and teaching the skills necessary to close that gap NOW.

You Know Why the Wage Gap Persists?

I believe I do.  I'm no social scientist, but I am an expert negotiator with a master of laws degree in conflict resolution and five years of full-time experience facilitating the negotiated resolution of commercial litigation.

I've been teaching women to negotiate for the past two years and here's what I learned - both on the ground and through extensive research.

• when researches asked men and women to count dots on a screen until they felt they'd earned the $4, the women worked 22% longer and 10% faster than the men. In other words, the women felt the need to provide 32% more value to be entitled to the same pay as men.
• when asked what their salary expectations are, women report expectations that are between four and 26% less than the men in their same occupation.
• in situations where men recognize and seize the opportunity to negotiate a bonus; a raise in salary; a better line of credit; or, a higher price for their services or goods, women do not simply fail to ask, they don't know the opportunity exists.
• women persist in in the belief that negotiation is only about money and can only be pursued in a competitive fashion; they don't realize they are negotiating something every single day - their children's education; their family relationships; collegiality in the workplace; peace on earth (no kidding).
• when women do recognize and seize the opportunity to negotiate a benefit for themselves, they feel guilty about asking!
• when women overcome these barriers (lowered income expectations; inability to see opportunities to negotiate; and, guilt over asking for something for themselves) they are proven and naturally better negotiators than most men because they reflexively use the negotiation methods being taught at the finest business schools in the county today - methods based upon collaboration; conversation; and, mutual problem solving for the benefit of all parties.

Both courses will be taught by me and if you're reading this blog, you already know who I am.  If someone sent you the link, click on "About" and you'll get the 411 on me.  Also teaching the course will be negotiation master JohnTinghitella, the founder of Humble Confidence Inc., a business training consultancy that focuses on Negotiation, Team Communication and Growth Management.

The online course (beginning today!) will also be taught by author, actor, success whisperer and work-life balance coach, Lisa Gates.  Listen, there are a bazillion "life coaches" out there.  The term itself is something I've often simply snorted derisively at given my propensity to dismiss without investigation.  I didn't hire Lisa to coach me and she didn't hire me to teach her negotiation skills but when the two of us got together, the synergy was like . . . . cold fusion.  Together we are both many multiples more powerful than we are apart.  I'm so confident in Lisa (and frankly so confident in myself) that I guarantee you that a year from now this month-long course will cost at least two grand.

Why?

Because we're not giving women fish.  We're teaching women to fish.  And the value of that teaching; that coaching; that support; that wisdom; that insight; and, that ability to take anyone from zero to sixty in 30 seconds, is literally off the charts.

Here's my real purpose - money being just a means of storing value; keeping score; and, paying the rent.  

Here's my goal.

I want to send my women readers out into the world as skilled and effective negotiators because I know that each one of you will teach at least one other woman what you've learned and she'll teach another and that damn wage and income gap will just . . . . vanish.

That's how powerful YOU ALREADY ARE!

The moment you begin to see how many opportunities there are to negotiate for a better life for you and your family and your community; your state and your nation an dyour world, we'll give you the tools you need to do so. After that, it's just practice, practice, practice.

And then you will ROCK THE WORLD!

This is not just a class - this is a a movement.

Begin the journey to real economic power for yourself and your family today.

If you'd like to avail yourself of this offer, email me at vpynchon@settlenow.com to enroll you at the discounted price.

I hope to see you online this week or in Pasadena next week and to see your decision to enroll in my email box very, very, very soon.

AND GENTLEMEN:  PLEASE SEND THIS LINK TO YOUR WOMEN FRIENDS - NEGOTIATION SKILLS VASTLY IMPROVE RELATIONSHIPS AND YOU WANT THAT TOO, RIGHT?

Full post as published by Settle It Now Negotiation Blog on June 02, 2010 (boomark / email).