ARTICLES ABOUT LILLIAN

Women's worth, women's salaries

"I'M JUST ENTERING THE work force, and I don't have any skills."

Statements like this one from women raise Lillian Zarzar's hackles. Women often don't realize their skills have monetary value, says Zarzar, and they approach employers as if "they're not worth much."

To help women through the shark-infested waters of salary negotiations, Zarzar, a seminar leader and professional speaker with Fred Pryor Seminars, along with co-facilitator Susan Konves, an instructor and admissions officer at Columbus State Community College, is conducting a workshop for OSU's Creative Activities Program called "How to negotiate your salary-a women's workshop" on May 15.

Women have a greater need than men to improve their negotiating skills for several reasons. Partly it's because, when it comes to salary, sexism persists. Women still make an average of 59 cents for men's every dollar, Zarzar notes, and at some companies there still is a "tacit understanding" that if a woman is interviewed for a position, the company will offer her less than it would offer a man. If that woman is married, those doing the hiring may figure she "probably has somebody else to support her," Zarzar says.

Part of the problem is low self esteem. There are women who go into salary negotiations and get what they want, says Zarzar, but many women-some of whom are single parents and feel guilty about going out to work in the first place-enter feeling as though they're in a "subordinate position" and figuring they'll get what they can. If their attitude is the latter, says Zarzar, "They're selling themselves short."

Role-playing is used in the workshop to bolster women's self-esteem and to help them avoid pitfalls. One common snag is for women to be told that $25,000 is, after all, $5,000 more than they're making in their current job and they ought to be happy. "The salary you're currently making has nothing to do with what the new job is worth," Zarzar tells students.

Women's usual communication habits sometimes serve them poorly in this arena. "Women tend to speak more than men do," says Zarzar, putting "their cards on the table quicker than they should." In salary negotiations, Zarzar coaches women, "The one who speaks first, loses."

This workshop isn't about "men-bashing," says Zarzar, but about reaching a common ground. For many women, reaching that level ground means learning they're worth more than they think.