Book Review #8: Women don't ask

When I first joined the twitterverse, a few individuals recommended that I read Women Don't Ask:The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiations - and Positive Strategies for Change, written by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever in 2003.  I was trying to go back in my tweet history to see exactly who it was that made the recommendations so I could thank them, but I can't see back that far :(.  Instead, I'm just going to send a huge thank you out into the universe and hope that they receive it!

As a new professional, I have often found myself unsure of how much is reasonable for me to ask in terms of salary, benefits, development opportunities, etc.  This book not only tells me that I am not alone in these feelings, but that I am in fact like the majority of women out there. One would think that there is comfort in knowing that there are others like me, but instead it makes me feel even more frustrated. Simply by being female, I am not only more likely to earn significantly less than my male counterparts, but can actually be looked down upon by asking for equal treatment, benefit, and compensation.

This book was a bit of an eye opener for me, in that it not only taught me the value of introducing negotiation in my daily life, but that it pointed out the drastic financial losses I could face by not doing so:

By neglecting to negotiate her starting salary for her first job, a woman may sacrifice over half a million dollars in lost earnings by the end of her career...

I hope to use this book as a starting point to setting specific goals for myself, both personal and professional, and determining what steps I need to take in order to achieve them.  Most importantly, I hope that I will find the strength to ask for not only what I want, but what I deserve.