22 2 / 2012
ATTN: Ladies in the workforce!
This was taken from here:http://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/hvv2m/i_work_for_a_large_multinational_tech_company_i/
Obviously this is a throwaway, my employer would be far from happy to see me talking about this. I am not a researcher and can’t offer and statistics, just what I see in my day to day job.
Today I finished interviewing my third new hire this month, two of which are women. They both are getting paid substantially less than the man I hired earlier this month, and to be honest I am getting tired of that. I don’t set the wages, I just handle negotiations (HR has to approve every offer I make).
Our process, despite the pay gap, is identical for men and women. We start with phone interviews, and move into a personal and technical interview. Once a candidate passes both of those, we start salary negotiations. This is where the women seem to come in last.
The reason they don’t keep up, from where I sit, is simple. Often, a woman will enter the salary negotiation phase and I’ll tell them a number will be sent to them in a couple days. Usually we start around $45k for an entry level position. 50% to 60% of the women I interview simply take this offer. It’s insane, I already know I can get authorization for more if you simply refuse. Inversely, almost 90% of the men I interview immediately ask for more upon getting the offer.
The next major mistake happens with how they ask for more. In general, the women I have negotiated with will say 45k is not enough and they need more, but not give a number. I will then usually give a nominal bump to 48k or 50k. Company policy wont let me bump more than 5k over the initial offer unless they specifically request more. On the other hand, men more frequently will come back with a number along the lines of 65k to 75k, and I will be forced to negotiate down from there. After this phase, almost all women will take the offer or move on to somewhere else, not knowing they could have gotten more if they asked.
At the end, most of the women I hire make between 45k and 50k, whereas the men make between 60k and 70k. Even more crazy, they ask for raises far less often, so the disparity only grows.
I don’t know if this is at all helpful, I feel most of it is common sense, but I see it all the time. How can I help?
TL;DR :
- Don’t be afraid to ask for more, it’s not insulting or in any way going to affect your ability to be hired (we can always say no)
- When you ask for more, give a number! If you let me pick, I will continue to lowball it.
- Ask for raises, confident people get them more often than high performers in a heavy bureaucracy.
10 3 / 2011
*TRIGGER WARNING* Petition to tell the NYTimes to Apologize for Blaming a Child for Her Gang Rape
I’m literally shaking in anger and disgust.
If you have the time, please.
Signed, and shared.
Done.
Sign. We HAVE to hold the media accountable for perpetuating rape culture and victim blaming.
Mr. McKinley quoted Sheila Harrison as saying, ““These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives.”
THEY WILL HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT? WHAT ABOUT THE ELEVEN YEAR OLD GIRL WHO WAS RAPED BY 18 MEN?
the fuck? there are no words to describe how disgusting, inhumane and immoral this bullshit is.
I can’t find the words. Sign, please.
sign sign
(Source: kitteh-neon-is-chemically-inert, via queerpocalypse-deactivated20110)
08 3 / 2011
scary.
With issues like the Stupak Amendment and Nevada’s Personhood Initiative in the national spotlight, I am aware that a woman’s right to choose whether or not to carry a fetus to full-term is under attack.
What I didn’t realize, perhaps naively, is that her right to choose how to carry a fetus is also under fire. Last March, Florida resident Samantha Burton was in week 25 of her pregnancy when she paid a visit to her doctor. Burton was showing signs of potential miscarriage, so her physician ordered bed rest. Burton explained that, as a working mother of two toddlers, bed rest simply wasn’t a viable option and then proceeded to ask for a second medical opinion. Seems reasonable, right?
Her doctor, however, was having none of that. Rather than refer Burton for the desired second opinion, he instead felt it necessary to contact state authorities, who then proceeded to force Burton to be admitted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital against her will and undergo any procedure the doctor felt like prescribing. When Burton had the audacity to request a change in the hospital in which she was being treated, the court denied her request. Three days into her forced hospitalization, Burton miscarried.
Never mind that there is actually no scientific research to support the claim that bed rest helps prevent preterm birth and that even the American College of of Obstetricians and Gynecologists does not believe it should be routinely recommended. Never mind Burton’s very real concern for the care of her two small children. Never mind the psychological, physical, and financial toll this takes on her family. The only thing that mattered to the doctor and the government was that they got their (ultimately ineffectual) way.
Oh, and did I mention this case gets worse? Burton (with help from her pro bono lawyer and the ACLU) sued the State of Florida claiming it — duh — violated her constitutional rights. The court ruled against her, claiming that that State was merely maintaining “status quo” in the situation. Hmmm. I never knew forcing a woman to bed rest in a hospital was status quo. Perhaps I’ve been ill-informed.
It is scary to think that the government feels it can negate the bodily autonomy of pregnant women for any reason, let alone for something like this. Where does this stop? If a doctor lacking scientific support can force a woman into a hospital of his choosing for the tests of his choosing, what’s next? Certainly it seems as if the bar has been set pretty low in terms of the criteria needed to override a woman’s freedom to make informed decisions for herself.
Burton’ lawyers filed for appeal and the case is now being heard in Florida’s First District Court of Appeals. Hopefully, this time the court will acknowledge the bodily autonomy of pregnant women and reverse the lower court’s frightening and potentially dangerous ruling. I shudder to think of the consequences of the earlier decision being upheld.
What the actual fuck. I’m literally sick to my stomach right now. Our government is fucked up right now. It needs serious help. And why is this the first that’s being heard of it? I’ve not seen anything anywhere, and I usually find this sort of thing pretty quickly.
Obviously it’s going to be a long and difficult fight to get our uteruses back from the dicks in government, but if we can stop things like this from happening, then it’s worth it.
(Source: you-aint-getting-my-best, via bohemianarthouse)
08 2 / 2011
9 New Laws in the GOP's War Against Women
shit.
In Kentucky: The state is the second, after Oklahoma, to pass legislation requiring women not only to undergo an ultrasound before seeking an abortion (as is the case in many states), but to actually be shown the ultrasound screen while a technician describes the fetus in detail. If a woman chooses to avert her eyes from the screen, she will still be subjected to the technician’s description. Kentucky women also will be required to wait 24 hours before they can receive an abortion procedure. According to ThinkProgress, “[c]ases of rape or incest are not exempted from this requirement, and doctors face fines as high as $250,000 for disobeying the law.”
In Ohio: AlterNet’s Robin Marty reports on a “heartbeat bill” which would define life as beginning at the first sign of a heartbeat, extremely early in a pregnancy, and be an effective total abortion ban. Even more frightening, it would seek to divide abortion from other reproductive services affected by other similar attempts, the so-called “personhood” amendments. Read her story here.
(Source: thesassysociologist, via bohemianarthouse)
