ESCANABA - AAUW, Bay de Noc Community College and the WAGE Project sponsored a free $tart $mart Workshop for Bay College students on Nov. 10 at Bay de Noc Community College. AAUW member and Bay College Political Science Instructor/Honors Program Advisor, Molly Campbell, organized the $tart $mart interactive salary negotiation workshop to give women and men the confidence and skills they need to earn fair compensation.
Campbell was assisted by other AAUW-Escanaba Area planning committee members: Darolyn Spannuth, Annette Johnson (Bay College career advisor), Susan Peterson, Shannon Taylor and Susan Hampton.
Kerri Sleeman, Michigan Technological University (MTU) staff member and WAGE Project Trainer, facilitated this workshop that addressed the existing gender wage gap.
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Facilitator Kerri Sleeman, left, Annette Johnson and Molly Campbell were the organizers of a $tart $mart Salary Workshop for Bay College students. The workshop provided students with information about salary negotiations in the workforce.
Sleeman stated, "The objective of this workshop is to help each of you get paid fairly and what you are worth for your jobs after graduation." She highlighted AAUW's groundbreaking 2009 research report "Behind the Pay Gap" that revealed women, just one year out of college and working full time, earned 80 percent of what their male counterparts earned. In one year, the gap was already 20 cents per dollar. Students were surprised and sobered to learn that women college graduates earn $1.2 million less over their work lives than the young men standing next to them getting the same degree at the same time.
Sleeman demonstrated what the wage gap means to each male and female student personally, how and why the wage gap happens and shared some of her personal work experiences as a mechanical engineer in the construction and automotive industries.
Sleeman guided students on how to benchmark their salary and compensation packages by using various websites, calculate their minimum acceptable salary and target salary, develop a "bare-bones" budget, and apply important principles, parts and tips of salary negotiation. Sleeman stressed the need for careful individual preparation before applying for a position and going into an interview.
According to Sleeman, the two most important principles of salary negation are: 1) Do not discuss salary until you have received a job offer, and 2) Know what you are worth in the marketplace for the area in which the job is located and be prepared to justify it in the salary discussion. She guided students in role playing salary negotiation by using the three T's: Tone, Tactics and Tips.
Sleeman emphasized that it is important to remember that salary is based on four things: assessment of capabilities, market rates for the job, the employer's budget and the worker's ability to negotiate. She stated, "By remembering these four things, this is how we as individuals can change the wage gap."
Molly Campbell and Annette Johnson, both AAUW and Bay College staff members, plan to be trained as $tart $mart Wage Project Facilitators so that AAUW and Bay College can offer this workshop to students numerous times in the future.
In principle and practice, AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin or disability. Women and men holding a two-year associate's degree or higher are eligible to join. For information, please contact 789-9096 or visit www.aauw.org.