Why I Started This Blog: The Everyday Negotiator
Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog! I'm Joan (read more about me here) and I'm passionate about helping women learn how to negotiate strategically and authentically. I believe that everyone deserves to be paid fairly for their work, and I want to help women get the salaries and lifestyles they deserve.
I started this blog because I saw a need for more resources on negotiation for women. There are a lot of great books and articles out there, but they're often written by men, for men - and most importantly, they don’t take into consideration the gender bias that women have to navigate. I wanted to create a space where women could learn about negotiation from other women, informed on gender bias research.
Why is negotiation important for women?
Negotiation is important for women because it's one way to close the gender pay gap.
Most women who are reading this have heard by now that women make, on average 77 cents to a man’s dollar.
These stats vary a bit depending on which factors you calculate. However, it’s no secret that major inequities exist.
(Edit: I’ve also written this other blog post entitled Three Myths About the Gender Pay Gap. Check it out!)
It’s worse for Black and Latinx women.
When you disaggregate the data, it also shows that Black and Latinx women have even larger disparities.
(I plan on writing a separate blog post about this later.)
Source: Economic Policy Institute
But it’s not just about pay.
Equal pay for equal work is not the only reason women should learn how to negotiate. Negotiation is also important for women because it can help them advance in their careers such as with promotions. Further, growing your negotiation skillset can make you a more effective leader by helping you to resolve workplace conflicts and help you negotiate more satisfying domestic arrangements. This is why I call the blog The Everyday Negotiator.
What will I learn on this blog?
On this blog, you'll learn everything you need to know about negotiation but from the informed perspective of a woman of color who has been working in the negotiation field for years. You'll also learn about the unique challenges that women face in negotiation, and how to overcome them.
I hope you'll join me on this journey!
I'm excited to share my knowledge and experience with you, and I hope you'll find this blog helpful. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to reach out.
Thank you for reading!
About the Author:
Joan is a negotiation coach and trainer. She served as a research fellow at the Women and Public Policy Program and started multiple negotiation coaching programs at Harvard.
