8 Tips to Help Moms Fight the Pay Gap  

Mothers in the U.S. who work traditional full-time jobs receive 71 cents for every dollar fathers earn who work the same amount annually, which equates to $16,000 less per year. This disparity has been deemed the “motherhood penalty.” As a mother’s income decreases by 4 percent when she gives birth or adopts a child, a father’s income boosts by 6 percent, or what’s called the “fatherhood bonus.”

Part of the reason for this impact is that mothers take time off to stay home with the children, care for them when they’re sick, take them to school, and take on the bulk of the parental duties. Which is no less work, but their “work” is split between career needs and parental needs. Fathers, then, work “harder” on their careers to earn promotions and take on the bulk of the financial needs, but mothers put in the same time and effort, only to still face the motherhood penalty. Here are some insights on how moms can fight the pay gap and earn more dollars for their “work”.

1. Stop Apologizing
Women may be able to create life, but they can’t create more time outside of the 24-hour day. Mothers can work with what they have, but that doesn’t mean sacrificing one thing for the other until they burn out. Stop apologizing and start asking for a more flexible schedule. Leave work when eight hours on the clock are up.

Yes, mothers get all these work-life balance and “adulting” duties done in less time as a time-crunching productivity machine, but they don’t have to stretch themselves so thin. Moms are resourceful and fierce. Stop apologizing for what you need and deserve and claim it instead.

2. Be a Shooting Star
Working mothers should stop thinking of themselves as one-shot wonders whose chances at career stardom moved on ages ago. They can differentiate themselves within the company with their skills. What can they offer that no one else does?

Women can demonstrate superior value through how they handle clients and contracts, interpret data sets, innovate or boost revenue. When pay and promotions skip them, they can create their own leverage and use it to their advantage without fear or apology. Burn bright and ignite like a shooting star!

3. Open up About Pay and Debunk Stereotypes
Just as women and mothers fight to push the pay gap into the past where it belongs, they must leave behind notions of nondisclosure about pay. The secrecy of who makes what only harms coworkers. While the typical worker with a bachelor’s degree takes home approximately $57,026 annually, that stat may not be true for all workers if evidence of the pay gap or motherhood penalty persists. Salaries must be based on experience and education and equal among workers of both genders, but a transparent dialogue is necessary.

Open up about pay. Women should say what they make and talk about their career growth, which will encourage others to do the same. Address the “motherhood penalty” as the elephant in the room and debunk common misconceptions about working mothers. Stereotypes about the father as the typical breadwinner only harm the family unit more than they help it.

4. Toot Your Horn
Toot your own horn, loudly and proudly! Stop waiting around for someone else to acknowledge your achievements. Women who make their accomplishments known earn a 30 percent increase in compensation over those who don’t make like Chicken Little and shout it out, using their voice to shatter the glass ceiling instead of whining about the sky falling. Celebrate wins, big and small. Toot the horns of other women who achieve success in the office, too.

5. Speak Your Mind and Needs
Do you track your pay and benefits as your longevity in your role increases? What does the record show? If you don’t, it’s time to go back through your files and pull out your welcome letter, annual reviews and any additional relevant information regarding increases or decreases in pay and benefits.

Do your title and performance reflect what you’re receiving? Have you waited for a pay increase or raise in benefits, rather than pitching your need and merit? Speak your mind and needs by negotiating for a higher salary and benefits, but don’t discount other perks, such as flextime. Aim for your worth, but prepare for rejection — state your reasoning and contributions. Remain confident with your posture and positive with your language. Look for mutually beneficial solutions.

6. Share the Labor
If you’re tackling the bulk of the duties, ask for help and offer the same in return to cultivate reciprocal relationships. Don’t be afraid to request assistance from your coworkers and loved ones.

At home, make a chore chart with your partner — it works for adults, too. Do the chores the other one dreads and vice versa. Spread out the timetable to break down the to-do list into manageable actions. Get your mom to watch the kids twice a week. Treat yourselves at the end of the month.

7. Leverage Work Sponsors
If you don’t advocate for yourself, then who will? Your work sponsors will. It’s in who you know and who you have proven yourself to in the past that will speak up and advocate on your behalf.  That’s part of what it means to be in a supportive network and have those resources available to you on the job. Think about who your work sponsors are and leverage that to your advantage.

8. Double Down on Career Planning
How does your career trajectory look? Are you where you want to be? How can you work toward your goals? Double down on career planning to fight the pay gap. Sometimes, what you’re missing is a plan and a solid course of action. As a working mom, you’re dealing with endless to-do lists, and your career plans sit forgotten on the back burner. Look back at the road to the present. Would you change anything? What have you learned?  Now, look closely at your dreams and goals for the future, and take small, actionable steps toward them, such as taking a new class.

Don’t pay the motherhood penalty. Fight the pay gap by refusing to apologize, shouting your accomplishments from the rooftop and being your best professional self. Work with your co-workers, superiors and partner to improve the situation. Talk about pay openly and ask for what you need.