𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝.

According to a recent study, women now negotiate their salary 𝟓𝟒% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐬. 𝟒𝟒% 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧.

𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 “𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒌”.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:

If women 𝒅𝒐 negotiate more often than men…

…why do we still see slower increases, smaller packages, and more pushback when they ask?

In negotiation, whoever sets the 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞 first often wins the game.

For years, the frame was: “𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏.”

But negotiation research shows something else: it’s not just about 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 you negotiate.

It’s about 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 to you negotiating at all – and the unconscious anchors and biases that define what’s “acceptable” 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 the conversation even starts.

So instead of one more “𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆” workshop, maybe we need:

- hiring managers trained to spot their own bias in counter‑offers

- clear salary bands that limit “gut feeling” decisions

- a culture where a woman negotiating is seen as professional, not “difficult”

Some leaders will hate this, but here’s my take:

𝐈𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

What do you think:

Is the real issue 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏’𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔… or the way organisations react when women finally use them?

#negotiation #procurement #leadership #diversity #inclusion