How confident, if at all, would you feel about asking your manager for a pay increase today?
This is the question we asked 30 delegates at our productive conversations workshop at the Powerful Women Conference 2023. The annual event is working towards a gender-balanced, diverse, and inclusive UK energy sector for a net-zero future.
The results were:
While many of the participants in the room felt they should be recognised for their work, were passionate about closing the gender pay gap for themselves and their colleagues. There was an overwhelming sense of uncertainty around this topic. They shared the barriers they faced to broaching this topic and their concerns.
- “Am I being cheeky?”
- “I might ask—it depends on what mood my manager is in.”
- “My job is quite niche, so I’m sure how it compares to others in the organisation when it comes to asking about pay.”
A representative sample of network companies and suppliers illustrates that the majority of the energy sector underrepresents women in senior roles.
What can we do?
We’re all acutely aware of the gender pay gap but often lack the confidence to have a conversation for fear of how it might land. We acknowledge that senior leaders have a responsibility to drive change. However, the focus of this workshop was to empower those who feel they should be recognised to take ownership of their situation.
Meet Marcia
Our delegates were introduced to Marcia.
Marcia, an engineer at an energy provider, seeks promotion to a project management role for financial recognition. With a background in electrical engineering and a keen interest in project management, she has been unofficially managing projects for the past 6 months during a colleague’s sick leave. Despite their return, Marcia continues in this role, taking on more responsibilities and gaining the trust of her team. She excels at building relationships and has contributed to innovation projects, including smart city initiatives. Now, seeking clarity on her role and compensation, Marcia aims to formalise her position as a project manager.
The anti-model:
Let’s watch Marcia’s first attempt at broaching a conversation with Ash, her
manager, regarding recognition and reward.
What did you observe?
Lack of clarity?
The timing was off!
She backed down too easily.
She seemed nervous!
The better practice version:
In our 1-hour workshop, our delegates (who had a wealth of experience) guided our fictional character Marcia to have a more productive conversation. Marcia was coached to use more assertive language, evidence their achievements, consider the timing, learn how to negotiate, and create a plan to follow up on the conversation.
What did you observe?
Confident
She led the meeting.
Clear
Calm
Concise
She convinced her manager of her worth by working with the evidence.
What now?
While there may still be a lot of work to do when it comes to bridging the gender pay gap in many sectors, we hope this resource will help you and your colleagues take ownership and approach these conversations with confidence. Please let us know if there is anything else you would’ve liked us to have covered by commenting below.
A special thanks goes to our delegates, who shared their own experiences and offered their expertise.
