Beth Robinson: Salary Bias’ for Women

S3 E4 · Resilience and Resistance Podcast

0 Plays2 years ago

In this episode, we speak to Beth Robinson, an Employment Attorney in Denver, Colorado. We discussed:

Bias and salary discrepancies for Women of Color in the workplace.
The power of negotiation for women’s salary and how women often feel as though they cannot.
In her research she has found that women often don’t negotiate their compensation packages, due to the fear of losing the job offer or being seen as confrontational, men on the other hand are more likely to negotiate their packages, even if they have less experience.
She recommends negotiating the WHOLE package, e.g. Salary, hiring bonus, stock options, vacation, healthcare packages, and bonuses.
The way a company responds to a negotiation is very important because it helps you understand their values and work culture.
How your pay depends on your experience, and when it's most appropriate to negotiate one’s salary. Regardless, you should always be fairly compensated.
The importance of how one views and values money, any way you view money is correct “so long as it's healthy”. Centering yourself and your values is important for fairly negotiating your compensation.

Watch this episode here - https://www.theplug-agency.com/theplugnetwork

About our Guest:

Beth Robinson (she/her/hers) is an employment attorney in Denver, Colorado. Beth grew up in Dayton, Ohio, in an inner-city community known as Residence Park. She decided she wanted to be a lawyer when she was in high school, after deciding that being an astronaut was too much math. She graduated from Harvard Law School and began her career at a large firm in St. Louis, Missouri. Beth has enjoyed doing lots of different things as an employment attorney, including the perks of working at large law firm advising large companies, working for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office defending workers compensation claims and representing state agencies in state court, and currently working as an in-house employment attorney for the Colorado Judicial Department.

Beth’s experience as an employment attorney has given her a unique view into employer cultures and pay practices. Beth has seen employers at every stage and has some insight into what makes a good employer (and signs of a bad employer). She has also been able to confirm through employer data that the problems that we hear about in the news related to bias exist in every industry all over the world. Beth has, thankfully, also had the opportunity to see employers get things right. She believes a good employer supports employees and allows them to be their best professional self at work, and she believes any employer can be a good employer with the right leadership and culture. Beth encourages her clients to intentionally create a workplace environment where every employee feels valued and supported in doing their best work.