Professor Barron's research on how women and men negotiate their salaries differently resulted in many stories in newspapers, radio and TV stations and on websites in the United States and abroad in 2003. Here's a sample:
Business Journals, June 11-13: "UC Study Discovers Why Women Settle for Lower Pay"
The story first appeared in the chain of weekly Business Journals in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley/San Jose, Sacramento, New Mexico, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The articles pointed out that my study is the first one known to examine beliefs linked to differences in men's and women's salary request.
Boston Globe, June 13: "Study: Men Negotiate Better Pay"
I had a long interview with writer Kimberly Blanton. She wrote:
“A new study found that men routinely ask for more money than do women in salary negotiations. More than that, the study by a researcher at the University of California, Irvine, found that they two sexes take radically different tacks as they bargain.
“Lisa Barron, professor of organizational behavior at the university’s Graduate School of Management, studied students nearing completion of their MBAs, 21 men and 17 women. In mock job interviews, each student was offered a $61,000 salary by a manager for a fictitious company, Indostar. Right after the interviews, Barron asked the students, most of whom were engaged in real job searches of their own, to report on the Indostar negotiations. The findings were striking, albeit troubling for women: Men, responding to the salary offer, asked for $68,556, on average, while women requested $67,000 for the same job.
Later in the story, Blanton wrote: "Barron’s study found yawning gaps between the way men and women described themselves in negotiations, a time when salary is determined. Men apparently felt more entitled to earn more money, her research found. One male graduate told Barron, “I’m not a typical entry [employee],” and another said, ‘I’m not a standard student and I don’t think that I should be categorized in that same range of capability and therefore salary.’
“Female students said very different things, such as ‘I am very similar to my peers.’ Another said, ‘As long as I’m making the average, that’s all I really care about…’
“Barron said women felt uncomfortable -- even incapable -- of valuing themselves in dollars, while men did not. She also said men tended to try to prove themselves in the interview by citing experience and proven capabilities and that women said they would prove themselves on the job.”
My research on how women and men negotiate their salaries differently resulted in many stories in newspapers, radio and TV stations and on websites in the United States and abroad in 2003. It fascinates me how reporters see things differently, even though I answered their questions essentially the same! Here's a sample:
CBS Radio News, June 13
Other reporters in the Boston area read the story and did interviews, including Mike Epstein of CBS. Here is a sample of what he asked and how I answered.
Q: If women are getting lower salaries during negotiations, are they doing it wrong and men doing it right?
A: No, they are doing it differently. The onus is on recruiters to understand these differences.
Q: What should women do differently?
A: They should get accurate information on salaries, explain the worth of their skills, and keep a running record of accomplishments, rather than waiting a week
Other radio stations
Two public radio programs, "Marketplace" and "Here and Now," covered the story. I was interviewed on the "KNX Business Hour" in Los Angeles and, I'm told, Rush Limbaugh even mentioned it. I shudder to think what he had to say about the difference between men and women!
Television stations
TV stations in Jacksonville, FL, Albany and Rochester, NY, carried video reports of the study.
The Globe and Mail in Toronto, Canada, June 25: "What Do Salary Secrets Hide?"
"Comments in our study," I told the reporter, "suggest that men see the salary negotiation as an opportunity to advance their own interests, whereas women believe the negotiation might damage their reputation or their relationships."
Orange County Register, July 5: "Why Do Women Settle for Less?"
Marlo Jo Fisher wrote: "Lisa Barron became interested in studying women and money while she was in graduate school, after noticing the men in her master's of business administration classes spent a lot of time talking about money -- and women didn't. Now an assistant professor at UC Irvine, Barron published a groundbreaking study last month in Human Relations magazine about women and salary negotiations."
The Register published tables of statistics from my study and gave several quotes from people who participated in the project.
Washington Post, July 9: "Breaking the Crass Ceiling"
Writer Kirstin Downey used my finding that 71 percent of make candidates believed they were better than the other candidates and asked for more money. Meanwhile, 70 percent of the women believed themselves to be equal to the other candidates, hoped to prove themselves and were willing to accept the salary that was offered.
During the next five weeks, the Washington Post story was picked up by newspapers in Illinois, South Carolina, Delaware, the state of Washington, Hawaii and Stockton, CA.
Australia's Business Review Weekly, Oct. 16: "Negotiate or Trail"
"Those who ask for more, get more," wrote Kristen Le Mesurier. "And men ask for more, more often than women...Lisa Barron [title given] says that men see salary negotiation as an opportunity to advance their interests, whereas none of the women studied mentioned positive benefits from negotiating."
Websites
The study was also mentioned by several online organizations that provide career advice.
