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Forty-six years after Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for women to be paid less then men for doing the same job, female college graduates earn an average of 76 cents for every dollar made by their male peers with the same degree and working the same hours.
To help University of Maine graduates earn their worth, the University Women’s Resource Center hosted the Smart Start Workshop on Feb. 14 to teach women about the wage gap and how to negotiate the best salary for their jobs. Women Are Getting Even (WAGE) project instructor Annie Houle gave the seminar.
“The objective is to get highest possible salary after graduation,” Houle said at the beginning of the presentation. She impressed on her audience the importance of researching before an interview.
According to a brief released by the Maine Department of Labor in 2006, female college graduates experienced a larger wage gap in 2004 – 74 percent of their male counterparts’ wages – than female high school graduates, who earned 75 percent of the male wage. Nationally, women earn 78 percent of what their male counterparts receive, but in dollars, that means an approximate $150 per-week and $6,000 per-year difference, according to the brief.
Prospective employees need to find out what the average pay range is for their specific position, she said. They also must factor in their experience level and the job location, according to Houle. A community organizer in Boston with two years of experience will have a different pay range than one in Bangor at entry level. She suggested going online and using a wage calculator like the one on the WAGE Web site.
Applicants also need to look at the community they would be living in and make a budget. She said they should figure out the basic cost of living, along with student loan payments and other expenses, so they can see how much money they will need every month and how much their prospective jobs will provide.
“The relation between the budget and the salary was something I hadn’t thought of before,” said Brionna Barton, a UMaine graduate with a degree in horticulture and studio art.
Job applicants also have to know themselves and be able to use their particular education and past work experiences to help persuade employers of their worth, “can’t sell yourself if you don’t know yourself,” Houle said.
Once an applicant has done the research, they can negotiate salary and benefits with their employer after a prospective job offer, according to Houle.
To practice, Houle had the audience role play a negotiation, impressing the importance of being both positive and assertive about what they know they should deserve.
She cautioned new graduates against immediately accepting an offer out of excitement or fear of being jobless.
“Don’t feel bad walking; you are doing yourself a favor not getting into debt,” Houle said.
