The Ohio University Women’s Center wants OU students to have the salary they deserve and is determined to help them do just that.
The Women’s Center will host the American Association of University Women's Start Smart Salary Negotiation Workshop on Tuesday from 4-6 pm in Baker 233.
The workshop is co-sponsored by the Graduate College and the Career and Leadership Development Center. Participants must register to attend, the workshop and the workshop is open to everyone. The workshop also fulfills a requirement for She Leads OHIO, the Women’s Center’s professional development and leadership program.
Geneva Murray, the director of the Women’s Center, appreciates the inclusive nature of the workshop and how it enhances the salary negotiating abilities of students who attend.
“Every time we offer it, we know that people are getting improved knowledge in regards to how to negotiate for a better salary, and we’ve seen the positive outcomes in regards to students, faculty and staff contacting us and letting us know that they’ve been able to get more money because of this workshop,” Murray said.
Although the workshop welcomes everyone, the information presented has a focus on women due to the gender pay gap, which is still prevalent in the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, women earned an average of ‘82 cents to the male dollar in 2017.
Alyssa Murtagh, a senior studying journalism with a specialization in women’s, gender and sexuality studies, thinks a workshop on salary negotiation would be beneficial to anyone looking for a job right out of college.
“Salary negotiation is so difficult for a lot of people to do because it’s uncomfortable,” Murtagh said. “I think it can sometimes be more difficult for us to stand up for ourselves and to figure out how to professionally do that within the setting.”
Not negotiating one’s first salary can negatively affect the amounts of their bonuses and raises in the future, Murray said.
“Not negotiating means that you will never know if you could’ve been making more money,” Murray said.
Mallory Golski, a senior studying journalism, attended the Start Smart Salary Negotiation Workshop during fall semester of 2017.
“I was enlightened, because I’ve always heard of the wage gap, and I think I learned a lot more about why the wage gap exists,” Golski said.
The setting was relaxed and focused, with a small group of people ranging from college students to professionals, Golski said.
Golski recommends attending the workshop either junior or senior year when job searching begins, so that the skills remain fresh.
“I think the skills that you get from it can transfer over to anything,” Golski said. “Just that willingness to say that ‘I deserve more’.”
