For any worker who has attempted to negotiate their salary can be intimidating, but it’s an essential skill for anyone entering the job market. I remember the first time I negotiated my salary, I was a nervous wreck. Approaching my boss to ask for more money (even though I had exceeded work expectations that year) was something I wasn’t really comfortable with. For former athletes, especially for those of us who play ball, negotiating your salary can be particularly important for several reasons. It can also have a long term effect on the quality of your life. Here are ten examples of why negotiating your salary, especially for women is so important.
10 Reasons Why Former Women Athletes Should Negotiate Their Salary
1. Gender Wage Gap: The gender wage gap is a well-documented issue, with women typically earning less than men for the same work. Negotiating salary can help former women athletes bridge this gap and ensure they are paid what they deserve. It infuriates me to know that even in 2022, women (on average) make 82 cents for every dollar a man makes. This can change the more women work hard to make sure they get paid properly for the work they do.
2. Career Longevity: Many former women athletes face shorter career spans than their male counterparts, making it even more crucial to maximize earnings during their playing years. For example, some women may leave the workforce temporarily when they decide to start a family. Those prime earning years can truly affect the finances of your household, so asking for more can help you not fall behind, despite taking time away from your 9-5.
3. Financial Stability: Negotiating a higher salary can provide former women athletes with greater financial stability, allowing them to support themselves and their families both during and after their playing careers. Having the stability or the financial freedom to live your life is huge. More stability might also mean better mental and physical health for you each day
4. Retirement Savings: Negotiating a higher salary can also help former women athletes build a more robust retirement savings, ensuring they have a comfortable life after their playing careers. It’s important to note that despite getting paid less, women also tend to live longer. This means you’ll need more money to keep up your lifestyle as you age.
5. Influence on Future Generations: By negotiating their salary, women can set a positive example for future generations of women in sports, showing them the importance of advocating for themselves and their worth. This is not only important for the next generation of women workers, but the next generations of hiring managers. There were times when I’d ask my boss or supervisor for a raise, and you could tell he was caught off guard. Removing the ‘surprise effect’ (let’s be real, why wouldn’t we ask for more when the guys do the same thing?) can also help create a cultural change: women expect fair and equal pay for the work that they do.
6. Recognition of Skills and Experience: Negotiating salary is an acknowledgment of the skills, experience, and dedication that women bring to the table, ensuring they are valued and compensated accordingly. As an athlete, you already possess a ton of transferable soft and hard skills that will serve you well in your career. When you add the skills that you learn year after year, job after job, it’s important to be compensated fairly for those, especially when you’re contributing those skills to your current workplace.
7. Equal Treatment in the Workplace: By negotiating their salary, women can advocate for themselves and ensure they are treated equally in the workplace, fostering a more inclusive and equitable work environment.
8. Closing the Gap in Sports: Women in sports have historically faced discrimination and unequal treatment, both on and off the field. Negotiating salary is a step towards closing this gap and ensuring women in sports are treated fairly and equitably. Even if you don’t get the kind of raise you expect, asking and receiving a small pay bump or bump in benefits will help the next generation of women long after your working days are done.
9. Breaking Stereotypes: Negotiating salary can help break stereotypes about women in sports and demonstrate that they are just as capable, ambitious, and deserving of high salaries as their male counterparts. A quick story, I remember going for and securing a coveted marketing role in the NBA. I was one of three candidates, the other two being men. When I learned I got the role, one was very kind and congratulated me on getting the job. The other- not so much. He actually approached me and told me he was surprised I got the role (even though I majored in marketing, and he majored in sports management). I share this story to show that sometimes, there is an assumption that because you are a male, or look like ‘x’, or can do ‘x’ things makes you more qualified than a woman. Definitely not the case.
10. Personal Empowerment: Finally, negotiating salary can be empowering for women, helping them recognize their worth and take control of their financial future. This might be an adjustment, especially after having to learn a whole new set of skills after your playing days come to a close. But I promise you- there are others who do ask, so by not negotiating, you’re leaving money on the table.
One of my biggest job negotiations happened after I was offered a role, paying a few thousands more than I was making at the time. By negotiating and asking for more, that base salary enabled me to get other jobs paying at a higher level. While it’s important for all workers, negotiating salary is an important skill for former women athletes, allowing them to bridge the gender wage gap, achieve greater financial stability, and set a positive example for future generations. By advocating for themselves and their worth, former women athletes can ensure they are compensated fairly and equitably, both during and after their playing careers.