On average Australian women are paid 17 per cent less than men.   Dr Warren Farrell, named one of the world’s Top 100 ‘Thought Leaders’ by the Financial Times, states that if women achieved ‘25 things men do more often, women can earn more then men.’ For example, Farrell  says that you’ll earn more money by selecting a job with the following characteristics:

- is in an unpleasant environment (prison guard vs. childcare worker)
- requires harder-to-attain skills (hard science vs. liberal arts)
- requires longer work hours (executive vs. administrative assistant)
- is unrewarding to most people (tax accountant vs. artist)

The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency(EOWA), which set up Equal Pay Day as a measure of salary or wage inequality, said the gap started from when women graduate from university.  Female graduates tended to earn on average $2000 a year less than male graduates, EOWA director Mairi Steel said, “and if current earning patterns continue the average 25-year-old male would earn $2.4 million in the next 40 years and a female just $1.5 million”.

The responses from three female business leaders varied when asked reasons why men earned more than women.

Janine Allis: founder of Boost Juice stores states” We are all accountable for our own destiny. I do not believe in stats or being a victim of ‘poor me, I am not getting as much as a man’. We all have the power of choice and the power to leave a job if we believe we are not being paid equal to men.”

Naomi Simson: founder of RedBalloon a company that boasts a turnover of over 28 million and employers over 50 staff, said “It is my purpose that drives me – rather than the financial rewards. I know many of my male entrepreneur counterparts are totally driven by the money, ‘the deal’, the return on investment. As a result they often end up with a bigger pay packet.” Naomi continues to say: “I think it is how we define ourselves. Women define themselves by the role they fulfil; men by the size of their bank account (the number of toys they have). Women perhaps still want to prove themselves. As such they will do the role for much less financial gain – and until we are paid the same then we will never be equals.”

Sharan Burrow: Sharan is the president of the ACTU, fighting for better pay and working conditions for women said, “This growing pay inequity is largely caused by the WorkChoices era. Women are concentrated in low paid jobs and industries and are much more likely to work part time or casually, particularly if they have caring responsibilities. This means they have fewer opportunities for training, skill development and promotion.”

Without a dynamic shift in legislation and radical changes in behavior by the business community women will never be remunerated equally to men.  The Federal Government however has committed to supporting an equal pay test case for community workers in Fair Work Australia.

pay increase No Comments February 18th, 2010

How to Get a Pay Increase

Now you know you’re worth every penny and since we’re moving out of the G.F.C with interest rates now on the rise it’s time to ask for more Moolah… But wailing “I haven’t bought a brand new pair of blahnik heels in ages” or “do you realise I’ve had to start drinking local beer!” is probably not going to win the boss over (even if we at BMB strongly believe it should!!).

So how exactly are you going to convince your boss to cough up the extra dough??

• Put a spy cam in the boss’s office? Great way to get more money than you’re probably worth but also an easy way to find yourself being extricated from a whole lot more coupled with plenty of alone time with a roommate called Bubba!
• Strike up a relationship wooing the said signee of your paycheque? Hmm tempting and more common than you would expect! However the cons far outweigh the benefits, I mean besides the ethics of it all, should you ctually be able to sway this person into raising your value, you will be paying one heck of a lot back in the form of karma when you loose your job along with the failed relationship.

So, since we pride ourselves at BeMyBoss for honesty we recommend you rather choose the following formula;

Instructions (its simple): Answer the following questions and put them into paragraphs – don’t include the headings we have written.

Introduction: Don’t forget to introduce yourself and set the frame for the letter or meeting.

E.g. “To Whom it May Concern, I am formally requested a review of my current salary with an increase of $____ or ____% for the following reasons”

(Follow on with the answers to the below questions)

Q: What projects, systems and/ or initiatives have you been involved in and how did you contribute?

E.g; “Since I started at ____ (company) ____ (years/months ago) I have been involved in (list as many as you can think of);

A. Streamlining the filing system,

B. Implementing a new customer service initiative

C. Increasing the number of clients for the firm

D. Improving customer relations

Q: What benefit your company would have gained by you performing these initiatives?

E.g;

A. “Due to the new filing system staff members have been able to access their records in half the amount of time and less often than previously. This effect would increase productivity and mean that staff have more time to dedicate to other work.”

B. “Due to the new customer service initiative we have received a reported increase in customer satisfaction which has resulted in improved company image and client retention.” The more figures you can give here the better.

C. “The clients that I have brought to the company are X, Y & Z (list all clients) and I project that I will bring in a further ____ number of clients within the coming 6 months.”

D: “When I came on board the customer satisfaction level was at ___, since my involvement in the call centre this level has risen to ____. I have personally received ____ direct positive feedback calls from customers and the centre has received ____. Some of the comments are _________.”

Q: Can you put all your contributions into a monetary value?

You need to work out in $ what this means to the company, this is a very powerful tool for them to weigh up the increase in your salary vs the amount you will give back for that money.

If money is impossible just try quantify what you’re saying with a figure which also means something to the business, like customers or jobs or time for example.

It’s not as hard as you may think; you don’t need specifics and can always ask a superior for assistance.

E.g;

A. “Since implementing my new filing system the company has been able to cut the amount of temping staff to assist with filing back-logs, this equates to around $300 per week in company savings.”

B. “Due to the new customer service initiative less customers are needing to call in and complain directly which has led to a reduction in the overall numbers needed to field calls, this equates to an estimated annual saving of $30k.”

C. “The total value of the clients I have brought to the company is $____ / year with a projected $____ over the next year, plus with the expected new clients in the pipeline which will close over the next 6 months the total projected amount I will bring in is $_______.”

D. “Since the department exists to improve our customer satisfaction level and I have exceeded the number of closed positive queries by 20% that equates to a value to the department of roughly $______ (to calculate you work out the percentage you’ve exceeded your targets by and times that by your salary. For example if you’ve exceeded by 20% and your salary is $40,000, then work out 20% of $40,000 which is $8,000 a year).”

When it comes time to discuss, share openly how you calculated your worth and stay strong by that, it is only a rough calculation, tell them that it is nearly impossible to calculate the value of a customer but you are able to calculate how much extra you have contributed to the business.

Close your Statement: Add in some other personal items here which add weight to your request, personal attributes that you bring to the workplace. To work this out ask yourself this question;

Q “What does my company / manager / boss value most?” Is it people turning up to work, is it honesty, is it putting in extra hours or simply having someone who doesn’t cause any trouble? Use these in your closing statement.

E.g; Since starting with company X 2 years ago I have only called in sick 5 times, I have been reliable, honest and often put in additional hours when needed. Today I request a 5% increase which equates to only (pick one: a quarter, less than half, 2%) of the additional contribution I have made the company to date.

I believe that I will continue to be a valuable contribution to the organisation and so appreciate your consideration of my request.

Yours Sincerely,

X

pay increase 1 Comment February 10th, 2010