Should I Stay or Should I Go?
On the agenda today: A Cure for "No Internet" | Should I Stay or Should I Go? | Giving Feedback | Fix the System, Not the Women
BITS AND BOBS
- We were today years old when we discovered the No Internet Game! Now at least we have something to do between meetings if our internet connection drops out?
- Unfair assumptions, unfair biases, and unequal access: it won't surprise you that these are the three workplace biases that derail mid-career women. Harvard Business Review takes a closer look and puts forth some potential solutions.
- Beware of the confidence killers. Ronke Lawal shares a few tips on how to avoid the type of people who might stand in the way of your confidence and professional progress.
- Bad Bitches Have Bad Days, Too.
Deep Dive: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
With the rise in pay transparency and compensation data, women are increasingly asking themselves, “Should I stay or should I go?” Today’s pay equity data says you should go. “Companies are still struggling to offer their female and BIPOC workers equal pay for equal work.” What Sequoia has found in their ongoing Dataforest compensation research:
- Annual salaries continue to skew lower among women compared to men
- Asian and White / Caucasian workers see similar annual pay, while Black / African American and Hispanic / Latino workers skew much lower. Side note: You may have also seen our post on September 21st: Black Women's Equal Pay Day.
- Within the same department, women are compensated less than their male counterparts.
- Tenure Shmenure: The pay gap for women persists as they stay with the company longer.
In July, Harvard Business Review published findings on how organizations continue to undervalue women: "Findings suggest that exceptional women are often taken for granted by companies who assume they're not a flight risk - an assumption that likely contributes to the "glass ceiling" and gender wage gap...While it's assumed that exceptional men will job hop to get a promotion, it's assumed that exceptional women will stay loyal to their firm because they value their relationships with their coworkers." Research shows us that gendered assumptions around commitment and qualifications persist.
The data isn’t all grim. Growth rates around pay may point to a more equitable future. But the future is now and you are at an inflection point. What should you do? Should you wait? Advocate for a raise? Plan your exit strategy?
At Circe, we think you should do less for the man and more for yourself. This means:
- Data is power. Revisit salary data for roles similar to yours on LinkedIn, Salary.com, Glassdoor, etc. California recently passed a law requiring companies to publicize salary with new job openings, so we’re seeing law starting to meet grass-roots pressure to release compensation data. New data may provide valuable insight for you to know where you are in the market, and can help you build your business case for a salary adjustment conversation with your boss. It’s about damn time you get paid commensurate with your contributions and the market.
- Take advantage of the "September Surge". Fall/Autumn is prime time for making a career move. We made a checklist to help you get started.
- Empower yourself with the latest pay data and research the newest opportunities. Struggling to make your decision? We can pair you with a Circe App expert.
My Executive Assistant is stressed, but I need to give her feedback.
My executive assistant isn't performing well. Her personal life is stressful, and she worked so hard to relocate for this job. The stakes feel high and I'm concerned about how she will take the feedback. What's a good approach with her right now?
The kindest thing you can do in this situation is to be direct and clear. It's wonderful that you're sensitive to the reality that your executive assistant rearranged their life to work for you but the choice was hers to make and not having an effective conversation about her work performance will only serve to add another stressor to her plate.
In order to ensure that she has a successful tenure as your employee she needs to know exactly what you expect from her and what metrics you'll be using to evaluate her performance. If we assume that you both have healthy workplace boundaries, she might prefer that you don't bring her personal life into any discussion regarding her work performance.
What does this look like in practice?
Since you're concerned about how she'll take the feedback, we'd encourage you to approach this like it's the most normal thing in the world (because giving feedback to any employee should be a regular occurrence). Instead of waiting for a big build-up, address concerns in the moment and, where possible, tell her what you need to see moving forward. "Jane, today's appointments were scheduled too closely together. I need at least 40 minutes between meetings in the future." If there's an ongoing issue that you've already noticed, don't wait for it to come up again to course correct. "I meant to ask you last to make sure that the expense reports are reviewed by me before they're submitted. Can you have them on my desk by 2pm on Thursdays? Thanks."
It sounds like she's a new employee, in which case, some of her performance shortfalls might be due to growing pains or that she's in need of further training. You might want to have a one-off conversation where you acknowledge the former and lay the groundwork for the latter. Begin by focusing on what she can do to excel on the clock and ask what she might need to perform her duties well. Depending on your relationship, close the conversation with asking her how she's settling in or if there's any support she might need outside of work (while keeping in mind that you are very likely not in the best position to provide that outside support).
Notice we've left her potential reaction to feedback out of the equation in answering this question. If she's been receptive to professional feedback to date then you might be giving her personal life more weight than necessary, which is unfair to your employee. If she hasn't been receptive to feedback in the past, that's a much bigger problem considering how closely you need to be able to work with an executive assistant and should be the first thing you address, much in the manner above.
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Book of the Week
Fix the System, Not the Women Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and author of Everyday Sexism, takes five key institutions – education, politics, media, policing, and criminal justice –head on in her new work detailing the systemic ways in which women are failed and blamed for the odds stacked against them. Arguing that this pattern distracts us from the real problems at hand, Bates highlights the ways in which society was not built for women. This book is a clear-sighted confrontation of the status quo and a searing call for reform.
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