Every generation of women in business believes that their generation is the one where gender will not matter in the workplace. "It's all about performance," I hear from those in the first five years after college in the workplace. Standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts, they see the work world and believe that they are prepared to compete equally and advance fairly. So, what happens to change the outcome?

The fact is women are the majority of college students and have a better than average chance of being recruited in numbers ahead of their male counterparts. Once recruited they join, in most industries, a majority female workforce working 12 to 14 hours per day doing their best to prove they were worthy of being chosen. Sometime during the next 5 to 7 years they watch as their male counterparts advance passed them as if they were standing still. At first, the reaction is, "well, he had a mentor at the executive management level; or, he had a family legacy situation; or, he must have proven himself more." The fact is, for the most part, none of these scenarios tend to be true. More than likely, he negotiated and ASKED for the promotion!

Men, for whatever reason, have been taught early on to fight for what they want. Women have been taught to work hard and allow their performance to speak for itself. Really? Think about it...if you aren't a champion for yourself why would anyone else be?

Women in business learn that whether or not they are even considering marriage or children that by the time they reach their early thirties it is assumed they will take time off to start nesting. If you believe that this concept is one that has been left in the dust take a look at the statistics. Twenty years after the first equal pay day men still outpace women in salary says the Society for Human Resource Management in its report dated April 2015. In a nutshell, the report is clear that even though women now outpace men in education they have been unsuccessful in obtaining equal pay. The reasons are many and companies SAY they want to rectify the situation, but women are the losers.....and they have been in every generation right up and including today.

So, if you are a woman working with woman just coming into the workplace for the first time it is your responsibility to mentor them and make sure they remain confident in asking for what they deserve. Whether or not you yourself have been successful doing this, I am asking you to embrace this opportunity to help the next generation change what up until this point has been the inevitable.

As a business coach, I work with many women who make the decision to leave corporate America and start their own business. One of the reasons these women leave is they believe that once working for themselves they will be paid more. The surprise is that once the company is launched and making money women owners generally pay themselves less than male owners. Since I work with both male and female entrepreneurs, I see this situation over and over again. So why is it women, when given the chance to pay themselves fairly make the decision to accept less?

That, my blog readers, is a question for another time.....

For now, I hope I have impressed on all women in business to speak up for themselves confidently and negotiate a higher pay right out of the gate. Otherwise you will become your own worst enemy.