Equal Pay Day: Tips on Asking for a Wage Increase

March 15 is Equal Pay Day. It’s a day observed nationally during Women’s History Month to shine a light on the wage gap that still separates men and women in the American workforce.

While there have been significant strides towards equality, the gap still exist, according to a recent post from the U.S. Census. Texas ranks 22^nd for the smallest gender pay gap in the country. Men in Texas will earn $10,381 more in 2022 than women will across the nation. That number excludes Washington, DC, according to the new data.

Denise Gosnell, entrepreneur and business strategist in equal pay said there are steps women can take to get the money they have earned without feeling like they can’t speak up.

“Saying ‘hey boss, if I deliver this result, then I am expecting this raise. By the way, it would cost you a lot of money if you had to go and replace me with someone else. Look at the other people who aren’t producing here.’ You can work that in. Especially knowing people have taken advantage of the work from home model and gotten laxer during the pandemic when it comes to performance,” Gosnell said. "Bosses will know that they will be hurting if you leave because it’s so hard to find good help these days."

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She said three other items you should put on your checklist when asking for the money you deserve include:

Proactively show result: Go to your boss and tell them what you plan to do above and beyond for the next quarter.
Show that result: When that time is up, show your boss detailed bullet points of what you were able to accomplish and how you added value to the company.
Simply ask: When you are ready for that raise, respectfully ask. Make sure you bring proof of the goals you set and the metrics you met.

According to business.org, there are only five job roles that report a wage gap favoring women: