Some thoughts on Equal Pay Day

When I think back on my time at Mount Holyoke, I don’t think anyone ever talked to me about making money. We talked about money all the time, like college students do — student loans, work-study jobs, expensive flights home at Thanksgiving — but no one really helped me think about money, even though I was going down a career path where I wasn’t likely to make very much of it.

Equal Pay Day is a symbolic day that denotes how far into the year the average woman must work to be paid what men were paid the previous year. (The actual dates vary significantly by race and identity, with Hispanic and Native women being paid least and trans women not even part of the dataset yet.) It’s also a great opportunity to talk honestly with each other about being women at work, and how to tackle pay equity in your own life.

I worked my way out of a low-paying creative career into a high-paying management role in tech. And I still found out, after a global pay equity study was done, that I was one of just a few hundred employees among thousands who were being paid less than male colleagues with the same title.

So, a little advice from the other side:

Start strong. You never have more power than right after a company has made you an offer. Push for as much cash compensation as you can reasonably get based on your research and experience. And don’t forget…

Perks don’t equal pay. The salary you start with is the salary you’ll build on every promotion and transition. I hear the argument for mental health and quality of life that WFH and extra PTO support, but those issues compound and worsen over time if you’re less able to financially support yourself. Don’t sacrifice your financial future to ease your present at the beginning.

Your negotiation is about you. Industry-wide numbers showing you’re underpaid can inform your discussion, but your manager probably can’t do much with them to justify your individual advancement. Be clear on whether you need a raise or a promotion to hit your target salary and be able to lay out concrete results, expanded scope of responsibilities and future plans.

Equity includes all of us. The road to getting businesses to pay equitably is long and difficult, and pushing collectively with a group of employees to ask for a companywide audit on gender and racial pay equity run by your HR department can actually correct the problem at the corporate level, rather than one employee at a time.

It’s ok not to side hustle. If you have entrepreneurial dreams or are seeking a career change, a side hustle can be a great way to test the waters. Otherwise, you may gain more by upskilling and looking for new roles to earn more from your primary job. Enjoy your hobbies; you’re here to build a beautiful, full life — not to monetize every moment of your existence.

Do the boring things. Ultimately, pay equity is a systemic problem and not all working situations are fixable. But what you *can* control, you should — and investing your money is one of those things. Time is your greatest weapon in wealth-building and the earlier you start, even with small amounts, the better off you’ll be.

KATE WINICK is a social media expert with experience in digital content strategy, building and executing multi-channel social programs, branded and sponsored content and social activations, and community management. She is experienced in training employees in social media competence through her freelance consulting work, and has assisted a variety of businesses with pre- and post-launch social media strategy.