A survey taken by CV-Library has shown the key differences between men and women in the workplace, with the main trend showing that men are less afraid to ask for what they want from an employer. In fact, over half (55.1 per cent) of men would negotiate on parts of a job offer, compared to just four in 10 (42.1 per cent) women.
The study surveyed 1,200 working professionals and found that the parts that women are willing to negotiate on also varies. The survey shows that they are more likely to debate working hours (56.4 per cent) than men (40.9 per cent), whilst men are more likely to negotiate salary (83.1 per cent) than women (73.1 per cent).
Other key findings included:
- Only 42.6 per cent of women feel comfortable asking for a pay rise, compared to 64.1 per cent of men
- Women are less concerned about job titles, with almost a third (29.5 per cent) of men saying that their job title is the most important part of a job offer, compared to a quarter (22.9 per cent) of women
- 86.6 per cent of women said location was a main factor they look for in a job description, compared to 83.4 per cent of men
“In this day and age, it’s concerning to see that women are still holding back from negotiations in the workplace,” said Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library. “Whether it’s salary, working hours or their job title, it’s important to be direct with your employer about your needs.
“Communicating with your employer doesn’t have to be a scary prospect,” he added. “They’re paying you to do a job well and will want to know that you’re fully equipped to do so. Set aside some time and schedule in an appointment to put your stakes in the ground. After all, if you don’t ask, you don’t get!”
While these findings can be put down to behavioural differences between the two genders, our study reveals some more serious consequences. In fact, over half of women (55.1 per cent) admit that they’ve never negotiated on their salary, compared to one in four men (40 per cent).
It would seem that this has impacted the size of pay increases that women have received in the past year. Over half (51.3 per cent) of women were most likely to get a pay rise of up to 2 per cent, compared to 29.8 per cent of men. Worryingly, men were consistently more likely to get a 3-5 per cent increase or more.
Biggins concludes: “There could be many reasons for men receiving bigger pay rises than women, but it certainly seems that men are happier to advocate on their own behalf. Surely, this has contributed toward their higher earnings. If you suspect that you’re being paid less than a colleague for the same job, then you’re well within your rights to confront the issue head-on. Taking ownership is the best way to start closing that gender pay gap.”
