Ladies, make sure you're paid your worth

[firebrand123]

This is just a post to encourage everyone to speak up when you feel you're underpaid or not in a role that reflects how senior you really are. The research all shows that women are a lot less likely to ask for or get a pay rise compared to men, and I'm a prime example.

I've just handed in my notice on a role I've been in for just over 2 years. The whole time I've been there it's been really obvious that I was hired on too low a pay grade as I've frequently worked alongside heads of department (I was two pay grades below a HoD). Now that I'm leaving, they're going to be changing my role to increase it by one pay grade when they recruit my replacement. I'm livid.

It's been hammered home to me since I've been there how there's no money. Requests for additional resource - with a clear business case - were consistently ignored. So I didn't bother pushing for an increase in seniority, I just left. Now they're essentially admitting I've been devalued.

So please - don't be like me. Speak up and keep speaking up. It may not get you anywhere, but please try. You're worth it.

I have recently started a new role that is brand new in a school at a university. I have tasks to complete that are very similar to a higher role in another team I work closely with. There are currently 2 vacant roles in that team advertised at that higher level. I looked at the job description and realised it's very similar to mine.

So after reading this thread I plucked up the courage to ask my manager the reasoning behind my pay scale, and if in the future does he think it could be reclassified at a higher level after I had proven myself. He responded with telling me he didn't believe I was at that higher level because we were on our 3rd email relating to some data he had asked me to analyse. He would expect the person at that higher level to be able to give him what he needed immediately.

My spirit is absolutely broken right now. I was not expecting this feedback and feel foolish asking about the pay difference maybe so soon (I have been in the role for 2 months). In those 2 months I have provided academics with data that they say has been perfect.
Prior to this role I worked at the same University but in a different school and was always commended on the work I produced and how good I was with excel etc. so I don't really know where to go from here and I feel any further meetings with my manager or completing work for him is going to worry me whereas before I trusted my capabilities.

Yes I agree, but there is very little you can do other than try to get a better paid job if you have repeatedly asked and they don't want to pay you more.

And a better paid job can be a double edged sword, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a better job or working environment.

Agreed.

It is even worse for women who work part-time or job shares.

I asked for my job title and pay to be upgraded a couple of months ago to reflect my actual role (because I have taken on more responsibilities than what I was hired to do) but was simply told there is no 'business case' for it and I am still expected to do the extra work for no extra pay/promotion...

So I am job hunting.

Thanks for your feedback. I am 51 years old so was hoping this job would be the one I develop and progress higher in.
I made the decision to leave my old role because there wasn't any way to go higher and I was comfortable in my role and not learning. I thought at this stage of my life I should challenge myself as I don't know yet what my potential is. So the new role is a completely new discipline to me, and I am learning everyday and the academics are challenging too lol. But I have never received feedback like that about my work. I guess I feel a bit trapped now. I have long service leave I am entitled to in 2 years. Hopefully I can see it out until then.
Although the asking has completely backfired and will change the relationship I have with my manager, I don't regret it.

Usually the only way to get appropriately remunerated is to move jobs. I went from part-time at 16k pro-rata (so in actuality I was getting 8k a year) to 58k plus 10% bonus doing this.

Your boss didn't answer the question you asked him though.

If you are being asked to job A and job A is classified as band 1 everywhere else in the organisation, then the job is a band 1.

Two months into the job you perhaps don't have the capability to do the job without support - that's obviously not ideal, but that's what training is for.

If the job is 'analyse piece of data' then that is the job.
'Do it the first time perfectly' is the capability of the person doing the job.

So currently you have a new starter doing a band 1 job imperfectly. You (ie your boss) needs to put the training and support in place to help the new starter get it right first time. But the job is still a band 1 job - do you see what I mean?

In other words @IjustbelieveinMe, roles are measured, classified and banded - not the people doing them.

Thank you, that's a wonderful way of putting it.

Well done for sticking to your principles OP. I echo what you've said- I joined a new senior role recently and negotiated a £6K pay rise from the starting salary. The upshot of this has been that they've upped the salaries of the other 4 people that started alongside me. Now to tackle imposter syndrome...

Wow Ozanj- I need to know what line of work you're in so I can join too!

I should've added, by negotiating, my salary has gone up by £8K in total over 6 months. I will always, always encourage everyone not to accept the first salary offered.

Don't assume all companies behave badly.
Have a solid case ready not just I'm a woman and you should be encouraging me to ask for more and by not giving me more you are contributing to the disparity of pay (that argument did not fall well). And be careful when you quote online reviews from competitors on Glassdoor to argue you should be paid more. One of our team saw a competitor was paying 20% more for her grade and demanded an uplift - the two grades although having the same job title were not equivalent due to different company structures and when we presented her with industry data - she understood that was paid quite a bit more than average for her role.

@IjustbelieveinMe this is true to a certain extent but it also depends on how well the JD is written. You say it's similar but not the same?

Your boss's excuse is rubbish but I've seen similar JDs, one team handles far more complex work requiring experience compared to the other

Very true @fireeeeee - JD writing is an art in itself and striking the right balance between organisational consistency and reflecting the actual daily is really difficult. I think underlying a lot of the stories on this thread is that people are going beyond their JD and this isn't recognised by their employer: newsflash, it never is! That's really what the quiet quitting 'movement' is about and in some ways I'm in favour.