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UW Oshkosh College of Business research finds women ask for raises as often as men, but less likely to receive

by | Jun 26, 2018 | Business, Headlines, Research

The Harvard Business Review recently featured research about gender salary differences in the workplace led by University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Business economics professor Benjamin Artz.

In the study Do Women Ask?, Artz and coauthors Amanda Goodall of the Cass Business School in London and Andrew J. Oswald, an economics and behavioral science professor of the University of Warwick, explore why female employees typically earn less than their male counterparts.

The researchers drew from new data that revisits two ideas that have been considered to explain why the discrepancy, which is consistent with gender discrimination, continues to persist in the modern workplace:

Idea 1. In certain circumstances, women may have a lower propensity than men to ask for pay raises and promotions;
Idea 2. Women may be reluctant to “ask,” because that might be viewed by their manager as pushy or “out‐of‐role” behavior for a female.

“This research is timely because despite decades-long increases in women participating in the labor force and increases in the educational levels of women, the gender gap still exists,” Artz said. “We wanted to see if past perceptions of the reasons for the gender gap were still true given the evolution in the labor market.”
The research showed that while women ask for a raise just as often as men, men are more likely to be successful. Women who asked obtained a raise 15 percent of the time, while men obtained a pay increase 20 percent of the time.

The data used in the study came from the 2013-2014 Australian Workplace Relations Survey. The survey included details about motives, behavior and histories in considering “why” women and men choose to act in the ways observed.

Artz said the research didn’t reveal any techniques that women should use to be successful in asking and getting a raise or promotion, but it did confirm one main point.    

“Until our study, the prevailing wisdom for women was to simply speak up, know their high value to their employers and ask for raises as often as their male colleagues. Unfortunately, our research suggests that this approach may not work and we need to dive deeper for that reasoning,” Artz said.

In working with students on campus, he believes it is important to make them aware of the current climate in the workforce but not let it dissuade them from trying to negotiate for raises and promotions.

“Students should continue to negotiate for raises and promotions when they have consistently demonstrated competence, persistently worked hard and achieved accomplishments above and beyond their typical job tasks. If that doesn’t work it is important for them to feel empowered to seek positions elsewhere to achieve the desired raise or promotion,” he said.

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