12 tips for women to negotiate higher salaries -- even in tough economic times

A study of 42,000 managers in the UK found that at the age of 37, the average female manager was five years younger than her male equivalent. Despite those significant gains, women continue to be paid less-- an average 12 per cent less for working in a similar role. At the director level the gap increases to 23 per cent. The National Management Salary Survey also reveals that resignation rates among women directors, managers and professionals are at their highest level for five years. Women are 20 per cent more likely than men to resign from their jobs. Those statistics would not be much different for women working in the United States.

As these statistics show, regardless of how far you progress, your compensation depends in significant part on how well you negotiate. Failure to do so, at any point in your career, has a significant impact throughout the remainder of your career. Women are doing many things right to manage their careers these days. One thing that studies show that women still fail to do as effectively as men, though, is to negotiate for themselves. (and that sometimes requires negotiating differently than men.)

Failure to negotiate for an additional $5,000 at age 22 will cost a woman almost $500,000 in total lost wages by age 62 because that $5,000 is lost every year and the problem is compounded because future raises are a percentage of your base salary. One part of the solution to correcting the gender gap is for women to learn to negotiate more effectively for themselves.

Here are some tips for women when negotiating compensation:

• Don't be afraid to negotiate
• Negotiate for yourself as if you were negotiating for someone else
• Time your discussion to follow a success
• Know what you are worth
• Remember compensation includes many things besides salary
• Quietly test the waters in the market periodically
• Learn new skills and take on new responsibility
• Create the right image through how you dress and act
• Find an advocate to give you advice and to advocate on your behalf
• Be confident and display confidence
• Work on improving your negotiating and influencing skills
• Seek coaching if necessary

Lee E. Miller is co-author with his daughter of A Woman’s Guide to Successful Negotiating (McGraw Hill), and author of UP: Influence Power and The U Perspective- The Art of Getting What You Want (YCD Press) and Get More Money on Your Next Job (McGraw Hill).