Hiring, firing & everything in between

I had a conversation with a woman the other day. Her concerns for joining a company were “there are no women on the exec team. Will I become a glorified coffee maker, or will they listen to me? Will I have to prove myself, or will they trust me immediately, as they would a man? Will I have to shout to have my voice heard, or will it just be a given?”. These are not things women should have to consider when joining a company. And they are not things that women should have to fight to change, either.

This month, we feature Elle Baker, a fellow Board Member on Parity, and Senior Manager of Talent at Levin. She is instrumental in our hiring process, as well as our onboarding process. She writes about the processes she has followed to help make Levin a place of inclusivity and to ensure women joining our business do not have to ask those questions.

🎙️ The hard questions

Each month, I sit down with a group of women and non-binary people from across the weird and wonderful spectrum of Tech to do a deep-dive into each month’s theme.

This month, I was joined by Sarah DaDalt, BD Manager at PowerFlex. We discussed salary, promotions and how to go about asking for them, as well as offering advice for making processes equitable.

Thank you for your insights, Sarah! The full Q&A is below, but here’s a sneak-peak…

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Have you ever been in a situation where you are aware that you were being paid less than your male counterparts?

One of the first things I noticed when I first started my role: there is a culture (especially in America) of people being unwilling to discuss their pay. Suspicious, even. Jobsites like Glassdoor and Indeed have helped people to identify when they are being unfairly paid, but the issue still continues. Only 13% of workers say they would be willing to share their pay with co-workers.

When Sarah became aware she was being underpaid, she  took a strategic mindset and gathered concrete evidence:

1.        Performance metrics (her own, and others’)

2.        Industry standards

3.        Comparable salaries

Then, she scheduled a meeting with HR and her supervisor. In these discussions, she recommends focusing on “the value [she] was bringing to the organization and how equitable compensation was crucial for retaining talent and maintaining fairness”.

While the process can be frustrating and lengthy, it is important to remain “calm and confident” – and to emphasize the importance of equal pay for equal (or superior!) work.

Indeed have some examples here on how to ask for a salary increase.

It is important to remember: sometimes these conversations will go your way, and sometimes they won’t.