Take control.
Who decides your worth?
In a study by Lisa Barron, organizational psychologist at the University of California Irvine, men and women were asked to indicate whether or not they agreed with the following statement:
“I determine my own worth and it is up to me to make sure that may company pays me what I’m worth.”
They were also asked to indicate whether or not they agreed with the converse statement:
“My worth is determined by what my company pays me.”
The results illuminate a key assumption women need to combat in order to gain a higher value from their employers. In response to the first question, 85% of men and only 17% of women agreed. The results were reversed for the second question, with 83% of women agreeing and only 13% of men.
This illustrates that too often women hold what psychologists refer to as an external locus of control, meaning that we accede control of our careers, salaries and futures to others. By contrast, men are more likely to have an internal locus of control, in which they believe that they have the ability to direct the trajectory of their careers and what they earn. Many researchers believe that the gender gap could be diminished if women felt more empowered and capable of asking for more.