“Always Have a Counter Offer”—and More Money Advice From Our Equal Pay Day Summit

Photo: Smith House Photo

Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the year women would have to work, on average, in order to match what men earned the previous year. In other words, women have to work an extra 83 days into 2021, on average, in order to get paid the same amount of money a man made in 2020. But the keyword here is “average.” 

When you break the gender pay gap down by race and ethnicity, it's even wider for Black women, Indigenous women, and Latina women. To put it into perspective, this year Equal Pay Day for Black women is on August 3rd, on September 8th for Indigenous Women, and on October 21 for Latinas. Although the gender pay gap is narrower for Asian American and Pacific Islander women, AAPI Equal Pay Day—which fell on March 9th this year—was still 68 days further from December 31 than it should be.

At our Equal Pay Day Summit presented by Mastercard, we hosted a thoughtful discussion on pay equity with Blake Gifford, an attorney and content creator, Kameron Monet, an attorney and content creator, Kelly Joscelyne, the chief talent officer at Mastercard, and Brenda J. Schamy, partner and co-founder of DiSchino & Schamy, PLLC.

ICYMI, we’ve jotted down all the mic-drop-worthy moments for you, but if you’re still experiencing FOMO, you can join C&C Insiders to get access to all of the workshops, mentor sessions, panels, and keynotes from our Equal Pay Day Summit and all of our past events. (Yes, you read that correctly!).

On knowing your worth…

“If you don’t know your worth (and you should), then research it. Research your value so that you truly know your worth.” — Kelly Joscelyne

“Ask other people. No one wants to talk about money, no one wants to talk about pay. Let's talk about it. Let's bring it to the forefront.” — Kameron Monet

“Employers bank on you not talking about [your salary with your coworkers], because it helps them to hide their hands. Talk about it.” — Blake Gifford

“Make friends at work. Networking is everything. Chase relationships and the checks will come.” — Brenda J. Schamy

On negotiating your salary…

“Negotiating is not a negative it’s a healthy business practice.” — Kameron Monet

“Come in first and come in firm. It anchors the conversation in your favor.” — Blake Gifford

“Know your worth and always have a counter offer.” — Kelly Joscelyne

“Be creative in your negotiations and think outside the box. There's no such thing as no deal if you want it.” — Brenda J. Schamy

On cultivating your dream career…

“You belong in every room you are you're in.” — Blake Gifford

“What’s for you is for you, no matter how much value you give to other people it’s never going to interfere with what’s for you.” — Kameron Monet

“Do anything you want. Reach for it.” — Kelly Joscelyne

“Try it.” — Brenda J. Schamy

On the best money books to read…

“The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance—What Women Should Know by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman.” — Kelly Joscelyne

“You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero.” — Kameron Monet

“Money Diaries by Lindsey Stanberry.— Blake Gifford

“Wise Guy by Guy Kawasaki.” — Brenda J. Schamy

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Mastercard's Ginger Siegel on Real Ways Small Business Owners Can Improve Pay Equity Policies

“Make sure that each employee is aware of expectations and those are equal expectations for equal jobs.”

—Ginger Siegel, North America Small Business Lead, Mastercard

Small businesses have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic—and women-owned small businesses have been hit even harder. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, women-owned small businesses have less optimistic revenue, investment, and hiring plans when compared to male-owned small businesses. Still, even despite these challenges, there are a number of impactful ways small business owners—even those with limited resources—can help close the gender pay gap.

To help tackle all your burning questions about how small business owners should be assessing equal pay policies, measuring compensation biases, and retaining working mothers, we tapped Ginger Siegel, the North America small business lead at Mastercard to answer your inquiries in real-time. During a virtual mentor session at our Equal Pay Day Summit presented by Mastercard, she shared some #realtalk on real ways that small business owners can improve their equal-pay policies.

In case you missed it, we’re sharing a few of the Q&As from this eye-opening Equal Pay Day mentor session. Read on for Siegel’s sage advice.

Q: As a small business owner, how should I assess my pay policies and procedures?

“When you think about the assessment of your wages and what you're going to pay, it really should be done in the context of overall employee policy. You want to think through things that are of major importance to employees. Monetary compensation is one, but it's not the only factor. You want to ensure that you create an employee policy that takes into account issues like maintaining a balance between work and family, reducing job stress, and looking at the type of health and retirement benefits you offer. Then, as you structure your performance reviews, make sure that each employee is aware of expectations and those are equal expectations for equal jobs.”

Q: How should I communicate pay equity processes internally?

“Making sure your organization has a very clear view on how you've established jobs, how you've established duties, and how you've established overall functions is critically important. You should also review employee compensation on a regular basis and separate compensation reviews from performance reviews. As a small business owner, you need to understand how your compensation is going to be built in place to provide equal pay for equal work, disclose salary ranges for different positions and levels, and, of course, advocate for your people, encouraging them to be open and honest when these discussions take place.”

Q: It's no secret that women are exiting the workforce when they have children. What policies and procedures should I put in place to prevent this from happening?

“We know discriminatory hiring practices and promotion decisions that prevent women from gaining leadership roles and highly paid positions are actually sustaining the gender pay gap. And it's not only the pay gap—but it's also the opportunity gap. During COVID, 305 million full-time jobs have been lost, many of them held by women, so this issue is critically important. As you're building out your business’ policies, ensure that there's a lot of focus on helping female employees who may be taking more of the burden in terms of the home life, by creating a work-life balance to ensure that your female workers can have the access to help they need and can also have some flexibility.”

Q: How can I actually measure compensation differences to see if there's a bias?

“In order to ensure that there isn't bias, this can't be a one-and-done situation. There has to be a constant constant focus on looking at your pay, looking at all of your employees, and making sure that these things are consistently held equal. It really starts with job descriptions and really ensuring that your job descriptions are not based on who has the job but based on the job.”

If you’re experiencing FOMO and want to know the answers to all the questions Ginger spoke to in this session, you can join C&C Insiders to get access to all of the mentor sessions, workshops, panels, and keynotes from our Equal Pay Day Summit and all of our past events. (Yes, you read that right!).

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Hey, Money Makers! Here's What to Expect at Our Equal Pay Day Summit Presented by Mastercard

Photo: Smith House Photo for Create & Cultivate

Women make up nearly half of the workforce in the United States today, yet they continue to earn much less than men. On average, women in the United States make 81 cents for every dollar a man earns. But the keyword here is “average” because the pay gap is even wider for WOC. Black women earn 63 cents for every dollar a man makes, Native American women just 60 cents, and Latina only 55 cents. And although Asian American and Pacific Islander women earn 85 cents for every dollar a man makes, on average—that’s still 15 cents less than it should be.

This brings us to Equal Pay Day, a day that symbolizes how far into the year 2021 women would have to work, on average, in order to match what men earned in 2020. This year, Equal Pay Day falls on March 24th, which means women would have to work an extra 83 days, on average, in order to achieve equal pay with men.) So, in an effort to narrow the gap and make Equal Pay Day a thing of the past, we’re hosting Equal Pay Day Summit Presented by Mastercard to bring you a lineup of empowering workshops, insightful roundtable conversations, and mentor power hours to tackle everything from salary negotiation to money management and so much more.

Read on to learn more about everything we have planned and what you need to know to make the most of it. If you haven’t already, be sure to RSVP for free ASAP!

THE DATE

Wednesday, March 24th, 2021

TUNE IN FROM HOME

First things first! On Wednesday, March 24th, you’ll receive an email with the link to access the Equal Pay Day Summit event site. Please note: All content will go live on Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), including the launch of the Equal Pay Day Summit event site. To find out what time a session is happening in your time zone, use this handy time zone converter.

The digital summit is made up of pre-recorded video sessions hosted via Vimeo and live video sessions streaming via Zoom. We recommend that you have a strong WiFi connection and update to the latest version of Zoom for the best experience. The summit is optimized for desktop, so it is best viewed via a computer or laptop, rather than a tablet or phone.

While the live content is specifically designed to be watched in real-time, you’ll be able to access and view it until Thursday, April 1st at 5 pm PDT (Insiders, you have all-access even after the cutoff via your C&C Insiders dashboard!). 

THE SCHEDULE

Equal Pay Day Summit is built just like our in-person conferences, which, of course, you all know and love. We have a stacked schedule with an A-list line-up of speakers so we suggest taking notes along the way. 

Want the full lineup? Check out the play-by-play schedule to map out your big day. Please note, all times are listed in PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) and EDT (Eastern Daylight Time). To find out what time a session is happening in your time zone, use this time zone converter. 

It’s going to be HUGE so we recommend getting a head start on planning out your day now.

THINGS TO PREP AHEAD OF TIME

Here are a few things to prep before the big day so it goes off without a hitch:

• Make sure you have a strong WiFi connection.

• Install Zoom on your desktop computer or laptop and test it out.

  • Zoom tips:

    • Find a quiet place to tune in. Try to situate yourself in a small room that does not have an echo. 

      • Try and stay away from noisy electronics and silence your cell phone and computer notifications for an optimal experience.

    • When possible, limit your internet connection to solely the device you’re using for the Zoom conference.

      • Set your phone to airplane mode, pause your television connection, ask others in your home to pause anything that may require a strong internet connection, etc. 

• Be sure to download the workshop assets so you can follow along with the expert in real-time. Note: Your exclusive workshop downloads will be available starting Wednesday, March 24th via the Equal Pay Day Summit event site. 

• Psst… Claire Wasserman of Ladies Get Paid is leading a salary negotiation workshop you don’t want to miss, and for more sage advice you can order her book “Ladies Get Paid” here.

GET SOCIAL

Stay tuned for exciting announcements and updates by following along on our social at @createcultivate. Don’t forget to tag @createcultivate and use the hashtag #CCEqualPayDaySummit for the chance to be featured in our Instagram Stories throughout the day! (Psst… Search “Create Cultivate” on Instagram to use our custom GIFs.)

C&C INSIDERS’ PERKS

Our Insiders get a ton of perks at all our events—and this summit is no exception. As an Insider, you’ll have access to all of the workshops, mentor sessions, panels, and keynotes via your C&C Insiders dashboard after the event. Not an insider yet? Well, don’t miss out—you can sign up here. 

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES?

Live chat with a C&C specialist on CreateCultivate.com. You’ll see a “Chat With Us” pop-up in the bottom right corner of your screen. 

WE ARE SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU ONLINE! Who are you most excited to hear speak? Which session are you looking forward to most? Tell us in the comments below!

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