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Most women find it difficult to talk about money, Murphy says, but it is crucial to have a greater understanding of the context of one’s earnings. Bias and stereotypes still exist in the workplace, and the wage gap prevails because women fail to act to eliminate it. The key element women must remember, she says, is that salary negotiation is a discussion. Murphy suggests that when speaking with an employer, women should set a positive tone and be matter-of-fact and flexible. She advises listening carefully to determine what is in the employer’s best interests, so that female employees can properly determine how to cast their personal characteristics in a positive light, thus bettering their chances. She urges women to aim high but be realistic when negotiating salary, and concludes by emphasizing that effective wage negotiation is best learned through practice.

 

 

Video length is 01:09:37.

 

Evelyn Murphy is president of the WAGE Project, an organization that strives to end wage discrimination against women. She began her political career in the late 1970s as Massachusetts’ secretary of environmental affairs and later served as the state’s secretary of economic affairs. In 1986, she became the first woman in the state’s history to hold a constitutional office when she was elected lieutenant governor. Now a resident scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University, Murphy has published a book on women’s wages, Getting Even: Why Women Don’t Get Paid Like Men — and What To Do About It (2005). She is a corporate director of SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company and Citizens Energy Corporation. She also serves as a founding director of the Commonwealth Institute, a trustee of Regis College, honorary chair of the Lost Coin Women’s Fund, Inc., and a director of the Polaris Project.