Please note: On a somewhat infrequent basis, Quintessential Careers asks noted
career experts five questions related to their expertise and publishes the interview
in the current issue of QuintZine,
our biweekly newsletter. Here is one such interview.
Jennifer Warwick is a women's career strategist and coach.
Q:
Briefly, why do so many women find themselves in the position of
underearning? An article in your newsletter states that "the fact is
that women are not dainty and helpless victims of the [wage] gap: we
had a hand in creating it." Do they not value themselves enough? Are
they weak negotiators? How much of the problem is societal -- the
fact that women have never earned as much as men?
A:
Underearning is simply the pattern of not making enough money
throughout your life, and underearners are both men and women, but
more are women. Certainly, part of the challenge is societal -- the
wage gap is real; our daughters don't often play games that emphasize
competition and negotiation; women aren't encouraged to be
self-promoting and to ask for what they need.
In my work with clients, I focus on the element of underearning that
is completely under every woman's control: her choices. I believe
that personal success comes directly from what each of us believes is
possible and what we take responsibility for.
It's not as simple as a self-esteem issue, though some underearners
may feel undeserving. And it's not as simple as learning to negotiate
by leveraging your natural abilities as a woman to build rapport and
relationships, though that certainly helps! In my experience, many
women find themselves in this position because we've sabotaged
ourselves through the stories we tell ourselves, and each other,
about women and money. Too often, we buy into myths that do not serve
us: Negotiating is hard. If I do a good job, my work should speak for
itself. Women always earn less. I can only be a (teacher, secretary,
clerk). I don't have formal training -- who am I to ask for more?
Poverty is noble. Every artist is a starving artist. And so on.
We limit ourselves passively, by not asking for raises and not
negotiating, by passing on opportunities for advancement, and by not
fully using our skills. We procrastinate, and we don't focus
on specific career goals. Or we do it actively, by turning down
clients, by doing excessive volunteer work, and by choosing
lower-paying jobs or quitting higher-paying ones. We apply for work
we're not qualified for, we create problems with co-workers, and we
stop just short of reaching our goals and decide to change direction
and start again at the bottom.
It all comes down to making gutsy choices. Women earning six figures
or more make different choices than their underearning sisters. They
choose their goals and choose to keep moving toward them, despite
obstacles. They surround themselves with people who believe in them
and their potential. They expect to be well-compensated for their
talents and contributions. And any woman can make these choices.
Q:
You could probably write volumes on how women can overcoming
underearning. Can you briefly here provide a few quick tips -- things
women can do right away to transcend underearning?
A:
Assuming you already know the basics -- make sure you have
the best education you can get, learn how to network, choose
a mentor -- you can get to the real work, which always happens
inside. Remember that change is hard, and overcoming a
lifelong earning pattern is a big change. This can be a very
complicated issue, and a good coach or financial planner can walk you
through this process gently, firmly and confidently.
1. Know how much you make and how much you owe. This step can
help you find out if you simply need to manage your finances
differently, or you are really underearning. Money management,
budgets and sensible spending have their place. But all the Suze
Orman books in the world won't help you if the fact is that you
simply don't make enough money in the first place! The crisper and clearer
your vision is of where you are today, the sharper your focus can be
on your new destination.
2. Figure out why you are in this situation. How
does underearning serve you? And it does, or it would not have
become a pattern. Is it protecting you? Helping you avoid
something? Sending a signal about who you are? Get help if you need
it, get clear, grieve it, and let it go. Then you'll have room to
make new choices.
3. Set a goal and make a plan. Coaches have great exercises to
help you determine what a satisfying income will be for you. And if
you want to be paid seriously, you need to take your career
seriously. So choose to have a career, not a job; and take on the
responsibility of setting career goals for yourself. Then develop a
plan to discover new areas of employment that will feed both your
soul and your bank account. Learn what the market pays for different
types of work. Decide how your current job fits with this new plan.
If it fits, see what you can learn here that will get you even closer
to your goal, and get to work. And if it doesn't, start getting
things in order to make you a compelling candidate for a job that
does.
4. Relax. Recharge. Resign. Many clients are in jobs that no
longer serve them, staying because "I haven't gotten the department
quite into shape yet" or "I haven't done everything I can here." So
many times, women stay in jobs too long because things not
yet perfect -- and of course, they never will be. Please, don't
sacrifice your career journey -- your adventure -- in
a pursuit of perfection. A coach or financial planner can help you
get your ducks in a row so that resigning can be a realistic choice
for you.
5. Get support. Sorry, but spending time with people who
grumble and settle for what's in front of them is not going to
inspire you to stay on track toward your goals. If that means finding
a new group to have lunch with, then take a deep breath and do it.
You deserve to be surrounded with people who believe in themselves
and their success, and who believe in you. Find women who are
effective negotiators and spend time with them. Whether it's a
mentor, a coach, a therapist, or a group of women successful in your
field, it's critical that underearners spend time with people who
expect to be well-compensated for their time and talent.
Q:
What's the biggest mistake that you consistently see your clients
make and how can your coaching prevent such a mistake?
A:
I think the biggest mistake my clients make is insisting on
being fully, deeply competent at something before they take it on. In
my experience, women seem to equate competence with flawless
performance, which is an unfairly high standard. It's
also disastrous in a new economy where taking risks is both required
and rewarded.
This behavior starts when we're young -- in the classroom, you see
little boys raising their hands whether or not they're confident in
their answer. If they get the answer wrong, so what? But little
girls, by and large, prefer to have the right answer ready before
raising their hands. It's a generalization, but research shows they
prefer not to make mistakes. Sound familiar?
This pattern plays out in the workplace, too. For example, as an
executive, I regularly promoted competent, capable men and women into
leadership positions. Naturally, a promotion is a new job, so there
will be things you don't know and will have to learn. Most of the men
jumped in head first, and as far as I knew, they were just fine: they
knew they didn't know everything, knew they had a team surrounding
them, knew where to turn with questions. They simply assumed they'd
master the new job through practice. I was pleased with this
attitude, as a manager; individuals with this perspective -- men and
women -- are low-maintenance, great team players, and high performers.
Many of the women, on the other hand, were concerned that perhaps
they were not ready, they were not experienced enough -- they seemed
to think they should be able to do the job perfectly before they even
got it, and if they could not do it perfectly on Day One, they were a
fraud. They came to me vulnerable and hungry for reassurance. While I
was always happy to offer that reassurance, it also occasionally gave
me pause -- employees with this perspective were less likely to take
bold risks and effect transformational change. See the difference?
In my coaching, I help women reconnect with their innate confidence,
passion and power. Every woman has it. And letting it show can
transform your life ... because all that a busy interviewer or
supervisor knows is what you show him or her. If you show that you're
secure, a quick study, curious and eager to learn from teammates,
that's true. And if you show them you're insecure, uncertain, lack
confidence and need a lot of positive reinforcement, then that's
true. I work with my clients to act "as if" -- as if they were
audacious, as if they were deserving, as if they were Oprah! You'd be
amazed how quickly that pretending becomes truth, with practice and
support. When you come from a place of strength, making the bold
choices is easy.
Q:
Are you generally encouraged or discouraged by trends in career
success for women -- for example, salaries, executive-level
positions, women breaking into traditionally male roles?
A:
Carly Fiorina has been a hot topic lately. I do not believe that
her leaving HP has anything to do with her gender. She just did not
provide the return that stakeholders expected and demanded. In this
age of corporate scandals and reckless malfeasance, it seems
that people have forgotten you can get fired for simply doing an
old-fashioned bad job!
I am absolutely encouraged and delighted by the business trends
featuring women. A 2004 study by Catalyst showed that companies
with more women in senior-management positions financially outperform
companies with proportionally fewer women at the top! This finding
clearly supports the business case for diversity, which asserts
companies that recruit, retain, and advance women will have a
competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
As a business owner myself, I find the most exciting trends are in
women-owned businesses. According to the Center for Women's Business
Research, 10.6 million firms are now at least 50 percent owned
by women, and nearly half of all privately-held firms are at least 50
percent owned by a women. In the last seven years, the estimated
growth rate in the number of women-owned firms was nearly twice that
of all firms. As of 2004, women-owned firms employ 19.1 million
people and generate $2.5 trillion in sales. And
re:invention, the blog for women
entrepreneurs, reports that there are 300,000 "million dollar babies"
(women-owned small businesses in the U.S. that gross $1 million or
more annually).
I think the real demonstration of a woman's power in the marketplace
is that she can now choose for herself whether to stay home, to go
for the corner office, or to build her own corner office on her own
terms -- at home or anywhere else. It's a great time to be a working
woman!
Q:
If a woman is underearning, how can she justify spending money on coaching?
A:
Good question. One of the first rules of business is that it takes
money to make money. Many businesses fail in their early years
because they are undercapitalized; that is, there was not a big
enough "nest egg" to keep the doors open until the organization was
stable and turning a profit.
It's the same for your career. It's important to invest in yourself
-- your education, your wardrobe, your social skills, and your
self-confidence -- to accomplish big things in your career, whatever
it might be.
Let's just look at learning to negotiate: for women, failing to
negotiate a fair starting salary in your first job can add up to more
than half a million dollars in lost wages over the course of your
career. Even small discrepancies add up over time; the sociological
term is the "accumulation of disadvantage." Put another way, you
could have had a comfortable nest egg, purchased a second home, or
put a child or two through college on the strength of ONE negotiation.
One way to break this cycle is to partner with a coach who can
support you in learning new skills, making new choices, and moving
from simply thinking about change to actually doing things that move
you closer to your goal. You can find a good, experienced career
coach for $250-500 a month, and since almost all work is done over
the phone, you can choose a coach in any part of the world. Even a
six-month commitment is a drop in the bucket, compared to the
extraordinary changes you can make in your earnings and your life.
Jennifer Warwick, MA, is a women's career strategist and coach based
in Los Angeles, CA. She works with individuals, groups and
corporations in the U.S., Canada and Europe through her company,
jenniferinc coaching: success coaching for gutsy women. She is also
an award-winning national and international speaker. To accelerate
your career by learning the Nine Audacious Actions: Success Secrets
of Gutsy Women, subscribe to her no-cost monthly e-newsletter at
jenniferinc.
Jennifer Warwick, MA, is a women's career strategist and coach based
in Los Angeles, CA. She works with individuals, groups and
corporations in the U.S., Canada and Europe through her company,
jenniferinc coaching: success coaching for gutsy women. She is also
an award-winning national and international speaker. To accelerate
your career by learning the Nine Audacious Actions: Success Secrets
of Gutsy Women, subscribe to her no-cost monthly e-newsletter at
