24 Apr The ‘salary gap chat’
“Am I being paid fairly?”
It’s a question that’s increasingly at the forefront of everyone’s minds, particularly following the release of the WGEA report this year.
As a legal recruiter, salary talk makes up a lot of my work day – whether I’m helping a candidate negotiate an offer with a firm, or guiding a lawyer through how to approach an upcoming salary review.
In each of these scenarios, the advice I give or the approach I take isn’t influenced by the relevant person’s gender. There’s no reason why it should be.
It’s also interesting to note that while it’s long been thought that men tend to negotiate their salaries more often and perhaps even more aggressively than women, recent studies actually reveal quite the opposite.[1]
So why is there still a gender pay gap?
I’m no gender expert, but the answer likely plays into multiple factors, and unfortunately, the solution to bridging the divide won’t come overnight.
Perhaps a good place to start is understanding what the reality is for salaries in the market, on a role/experience-specific basis – something that hopefully a skilled recruiter (like me!) can shed some light on. If you prefer to see something in black and white, our 2024 Salary Guide is also available for download here.
Armed with this information, hopefully, anyone facing an upcoming salary review will be better equipped to ask for and receive a salary package that is truly fair, regardless of gender.
If you’re a lawyer who would like to get a better understanding of how your salary really stacks up, please reach out for a confidential chat.
tiffany@montgomeryadvisory.com.au
0434 102 263
[1] Kray, L.J., Kennedy, J.A. and Lee, M. (2024) ‘Now, women do ask: A call to update beliefs about the gender pay gap’, Academy of Management Discoveries, 10(1), pp. 7–33. doi:10.5465/amd.2022.0021.
