To be successful in the workforce today, and throughout your life, you must successfully engage with people from the beginning to the end of each day. Often, it's with people whose viewpoints don't always match your own. And, when viewpoints don't match but you need to resolve the differences, it's crucial to be able to effectively negotiate with the other parties to create a mutually-agreeable solution.
Quality negotiation skills are vital in situations such as receiving a job offer of interest, asking your boss for a raise or to otherwise boost workplace benefits, or when an organization to which you belong is making decisions that will impact people's lives.
Traditionally, women have been more reluctant to negotiate than men, which means they have disproportionately suffered from the costs associated with not negotiating. Even today, there is a frequently-noted "confidence gap" between the genders, with one study showing that only 7 percent of women attempted to negotiate their salaries, whereas 57 percent of the men did.
Women are as competent as men in the workforce, with global studies by Goldman Sachs and Columbia University demonstrating that companies employing women actually outperform their competitors on every measure of profitability. So, the issue is confidence, not competency - but, because confidence is a critical component of success, this article will share information about how women can successfully engage and negotiate with others to receive what they deserve.
