This way you earn just as much as your male colleague

Goodness, people. The wage gap between men and women was 5 percent, and suddenly it has slipped to 7.4. Time to intervene and shake that tree, because doing the same work and earning less is just crazy. There are several reasons why this happens. Women often work in slightly lower-paid jobs, they more often work part-time, which makes them seen as less indispensable, and we are simply worse at negotiating. So: get to work.

1. Show what you have meant for the company
And it’s not about the hours, but about the performance. Show what you have achieved and what you have earned and saved for the company. You are showing that you are worth your salary double and more. Tip: don’t say how many hours you work because that can, however unkind, work against you. Then your manager can say that you might not be working efficiently. So be proactive and show what your output is.

2. Ask for a raise at the right time
If it just came out in the newspaper that the company you work for has shown poor annual figures, it might not be the perfect time. But if there are nice black figures being written, you can definitely knock on the door.

3. Indicate in advance what you want to discuss
I know us women. If you don’t have a clear agenda, it can easily happen that you catch up on the situation and that you, oh discomfort, just walk out the door without having talked about money.

4. Know the collective labor agreement
Make sure you know where the room is.

5. Address your manager on their responsibility to eliminate the wage gap between men and women
It’s the time of inclusion and equality, right?

6. Say it out loud a few times
Because if you doubt your worth, it will definitely not work.

7. Believe that you are worth it
Someone sends you an email that makes your stomach turn. There are seven people in CC and the long story boils down to someone wanting to dump all the misery in your garden...