Whether you are negotiating for a new job or an earned raise or promotion, in every workshop you will gain confidence to:

• Identify and articulate your personal value
• Develop an arsenal of persuasive responses and other negotiation strategies
• Conduct objective market research to benchmark a target salary and benefits

Why is negotiation so important? AAUW’s research on the gender pay gap shows that, one year out of college, women are already paid significantly less than men. Women who work full time take home 80 cents for every dollar a full-time male worker is paid. And over a lifetime, those lost potential earnings add up.

Women who negotiate increase their potential to earn higher salaries and better benefits packages. By negotiating fair and equitable salaries, you’ll be better able to pay off loans, buy the things you want and need, and even save for retirement.

AAUW, the Women’s Foundation, and Kansas City’s Mayor Sly James launched the first phase of an initiative to empower 1 million women to successfully negotiate salary and benefits and close the gender pay gap in both Kansas and Missouri. The initiative will begin in Kansas City, where the overall gender pay ratio for the Kansas City metro area is 79 percent (a 21 percent gap).

In 2017, median annual earnings for men in Kansas were $49,267 compared to $37,931 for women — an earnings ratio of 77 percent, or 42nd out of all states and the District of Columbia, according to the most recent census data. In Missouri, median annual earnings for men were $47,436 compared to $37,339 for women — an earnings ratio of 79 percent, or 34th out of all states and the District of Columbia. And for many women, the pay gap is wider. This initiative will build momentum to close these gaps.