To close gender pay gap, women must be willing to ask for more

Women be wise. Learn to negotiate like a man.

Study after study shows that women are not paid as much as men, even when they are doing the same job. In fact, the figure hasn't budged in 10 years. Women earn 77 cents for every dollar men are paid.

Many write off this inequity by pointing out how often women switch trains midpoint and jump from the career track to the mommy track. But even when they don't, a recent study discovered, they still earn less than men.

One year after graduation - when the variables for men and women are most similar - females were paid about 82 percent of what men made, according to a new report by the American Association of University Women.

The researchers acknowledged that Millennial women, just like their forebearers, tend to choose careers in the health, nonprofit and teaching fields. But that didn't explain the difference.

"About one-third of the gap remains unexplained, suggesting that bias and discrimination are still problems in the workplace," said the study.

No doubt gender discrimination persists. But it's also true that women often do not ask for more money when offered a job. Instead, they tend to accept the salary that is offered, grateful rather than deserving.

One study cited in the book "Women Don't Ask," by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever, noted that 20 percent of adult women said they never negotiate, even though they know they should.

A travel editor friend recently hired 30 new writers for a website. Admittedly, she wasn't paying much. Three of the four men and only one of the 26 women came back and asked if that was the best she could do.

I had a part-time assistant when I worked at a major media company whose salary was doubled when my replacement hired her full-time. It turned out to be less than she was making working half-time and freelancing. I encouraged (pleaded with) her to ask for more money.

She hemmed and hawed. I pushed harder. Ask. I even wrote an email for her to send, outlining how much less she would be making by taking the full-time position. No threats. Just laying out the facts, and simply asking if there were anything the new boss could do.

She wouldn't do it. She worried she'd be seen as unappreciative, or that they might rescind the offer and give it to the ambitious intern, which I was certain wouldn't happen.

But if you don't ask, you are certainly not going to get it.

Young women, in particular, need to ask for more money. It matters greatly over the course of a career because of the miracles of compounding interest.

"By not negotiating a first salary, an individual stands to lose more than $500,000 by age 60 - and men are more than four times as likely as women to negotiate a first salary," according to the site for "Women Don't Ask": www.womendontask.com/stats.html

The American Association of University Women study focused on 15,000 men and women who graduated in 2008 and asked them what they earned in 2009 - one year later. They found that, on average, women earned slightly more than $38,000 while men earned just over $45,000 - a $7,000 difference.

Do the math. Let's say each stayed at the same job and got a 5 percent raise each year. In 10 years, she'd be making $61,900. Because the young man asked for more to begin with, he'd be making $73,000. And the discrepancy gap - $11,000 - would keep getting bigger.

One reason this matters: Women, who are attending college at higher rates than men, are more likely to take out loans. The study found the average loan amount for both genders was $20,000. Who is going to pay off their debt faster?

Even when women do ask, they ask for between 3 percent and 32 percent less than men, said Lisa Gates, founder of SheNegotiates.

"Women get really uncomfortable negotiating," said Gates. "They think they are being greedy. But our failure to ask is culturally sourced. We learn to shut up soon. We stop raising our hands. We need to change the culture, but you don't change the culture overnight."

Let's start now. Remember that travel editor? She talked to her project manager. The four who asked got better deals.

Alicia Shepard is a visiting professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she teaches journalism. She is the author of "Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate."