Episode recap: Gender dynamics of negotiation
When women negotiate they’re often labeled, perhaps called too direct or too soft. How can women gain confidence in negotiating, and what can be done to overcome stereotypes that create barriers for women during negotiation? In the most recent episode of the Fearless podcast “Nasty or nice: When and how women negotiate,” co-hosts LaDrina Wilson and Macey Shofroth talked about negotiation with Cristy Tackett-Hunt, general counsel of Perfusion Solution Inc., and Beth Livingston, the Sheets Associate Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.
Here are five quotes from the conversation.
“Negotiation comes up time and time again in the literature as being an issue that is differentiated between men and women, particularly in terms of the outcomes that men and women tend to negotiate and the situations under which they choose to negotiate. … Women often fall into what we call gendered norms of negotiation, where they’re perhaps a little bit more other-concerned or other-centered and less self-centered in the way in which they negotiate.”
– Beth Livingston
“Often people find themselves in a bit of a quandary … when they accepted a job under a certain set of expectations, and then they get there and it’s completely different than what they expected. … It’s significantly more. In those situations, I think that’s a good time to go back to the table and start talking about what you’re contributing and what its value is.”
– Cristy Tackett-Hunt
“There can be a sense of, when you’re offered a job, a sense of relief, of gratefulness. … There can be a fear then that if I ask for more, they’re going to take it away from me or they’re going to think I’m ungrateful. There’s a psychological point to be like, ‘You are worthy of this job.’ It is not a gift. It is something that you have earned. And therefore you can ask for what you believe you deserve.”
– Beth Livingston
“I would never start the negotiation – that’s a lawyer trick. Never throw the number out first. A lot of times people will ask what you think you should make or what your goals are, and I think you can answer that question without getting into specific dollar amounts. It could be something as simple as, ‘Well, we know what the market’s doing and what the market’s paying, and I want to be a market rate. … Talking in less concrete terms will serve you well, especially out of the box.”
– Cristy Tackett-Hunt
“With many negotiations it can feel that there are … a winner and a loser. It can feel like, ‘Well if you get more money, we as a company get less. There’s this idea that this is a zero sum negotiation. … I like to try to say, ‘Your employees are assets, are investments, are components of what makes your company work. … How can we be on the same page and solve a problem?’”
– Beth Livingston
