By Maritza Dominguez

This is a recap of our first town hall in San Francisco on March 1, 2017.

Women often have a difficult time discussing money, especially when it directly relates to ourselves and our self-worth. Our first town hall in San Francisco spoke to this, with women sharing stories about negotiating, working in male dominated environments, and “knowing your worth.” Huge thank you to Galvanize for the use of their facilities to host our event, Emily with Farm Hill for the delicious healthy desserts, and Miranda Morgan for the great photos.

Our speakers for the evening, who shared their personal experiences with money and the workplace were:

• Jennifer Tacheff: VP of Partnerships & Business Development at Women Who Code
• Sepideh Nasiri: Founder of Persian Women In Tech, the former Vice President at Women 2.0
• Olga Mack: General Counsel | Startup Advisor | Women’s Advocate | Author | Public Speaker
• Bruna Maia: People & Culture Director at Galvanize
• Tiffany Libiran: Manager, Technical Recruiting at Lending Club
• Kristine Maltrud: CEO/Founder of Art Spark
• Natalya Thakur: Financial Analyst | Design Thinking Consultant | Women’s Leadership Coach

After some wine & snacks, LGP founder Claire Wasserman, started the evening off with some pretty startling statistics that illustrate the need for women to begin advocating for ourselves and for each other.

• Typically, women make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes.
   
• But the gap is even wider for women of color, with Black women making only 60 cents, and Latina/Hispanic women making 50 cents, for every dollar a man makes.
• The fastest growing group of entrepreneurs is Black women, but only 56% raised outside funding…raising an average of only $36,000.
   

We had meaningful conversations discussing mentorship and advocacy. The need for finding mentors in and out of your field was stressed, because we learn from each other. We also talked about advocating for yourself. We heard a story from an attendee, about how she had suggested a co-ed basketball team, but her boss decided to start a men’s only team without consulting the rest of the floor. The attendee spoke up to her boss even though she was worried about how he would take it, and let him know that in essence he had decided “no” for the women on the floor without their consent. This took him by surprise, as he hadn’t even thought about it. We must speak up for ourselves, no matter how small!

There was quite a bit of discussion around negotiating for new jobs and for pay raises, with a number of recruiters in the crowd chiming in.

Key Takeaways:

Don’t be afraid to openly discuss salaries

Though it may be uncomfortable, it’s imperative that you start talking about it with your friends and your male counterparts. Men are often very open about their salaries, and how else will you find out where you stand or what you need to shoot for?
 

When negotiating your salary, always bump it up at least 20%

Most companies account for about 20% wiggle room for negotiations. Your salary is not just a gift! Get paid what you deserve.
 

Interview for jobs every year or two

This will help keep your interview skills fresh. Also, this helps you see what else is out there and what salaries look like.
 

Don’t be afraid to ask

No one is going to advocate for you like you will. If duties are added to your job title after you accepted, you should ask for more.

Advocate for yourself and for others

We are fantastic at pushing each other up. Together we can succeed.

“Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It’s about making life more fair for women everywhere. It’s not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It’s about baking a new pie.”

— Gloria Steinem

Want to bring a Ladies Get Paid town hall to your city? Let’s chat. Drop us a line to learn more about our ambassador program.