Description

Do you know how to negotiate your salary — or do you just hope your employer does the right thing and pays you what you're worth? For most women, negotiation feels uncomfortable at best and terrifying at worst, and that discomfort is costing us real money. This episode is the push you didn't know you needed, straight from someone who has sat on both sides of that table for over 20 years.

In this episode, you'll learn:

1. Why women struggle more in salary negotiations than their male counterparts — including five key factors: socialization and gender norms, the likability vs. assertiveness double standard, lack of role models, the gender pay gap, internalized stereotypes, and fear of backlash
2. How to use research and market data — not just a salary website — to remove emotion from the negotiation and make a case that actually lands
3. Why confidence is a muscle, not a personality trait, and how to build assertiveness even if advocating for yourself has always felt hard
4. What effective communication looks like in a negotiation — including why silence (the "pregnant pause") is one of your most powerful tools
5. How to get creative when salary isn't moveable — from flexible work arrangements and PTO to variable compensation tied to results — and the key principles from Getting to Yes and Never Split the Difference that change how you approach every negotiation

Chapter Markers:

• 00:00 — Why Women Struggle to Negotiate Pay
• 02:08 — The 5 Factors Holding Women Back
• 07:03 — What Happened When Kerri Advocated for Herself (A Hard Lesson)
• 13:02 — What to Do About It: The 5 Negotiation Skills
• 13:41 — Skill 1: Research & Market Data
• 14:39 — Skill 2: Confidence & Assertiveness
• 15:31 — Skill 3: Effective Communication & the Pregnant Pause
• 16:28 — Skill 4: Flexibility & Creative Compensation
• 17:09 — Skill 5: Negotiate With Data
• 19:27 — Book Recommendations: Getting to Yes & Never Split the Difference

If you're a business owner wondering whether your compensation structure is actually competitive enough to attract and retain women at every level, the free HR Audit will show you exactly where your pay practices stand: saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🔍 Ready to find out what's really going on inside your business? Take the free Salt & Light HR Audit at saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit. In about 10 minutes, you'll get a clear picture of where your people operations stand — and exactly where to focus next. No fluff, no sales pitch. Just clarity.

Resources to keep building:

🎯 Take the free HR Audit — Score your HR systems in 5 minutes and see exactly where your gaps are. 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hraudit

🎙️ Listen to Don't Waste the Chaos — The podcast for small business owners building strong people operations. 👉 kerrimroberts.com/podcast

📖 Get The HR Easy Button — Kerri's book on building HR systems that actually work for small businesses. 👉 https://amzn.to/4cPyrFh

✉️ Subscribe to the newsletter — Weekly HR insights for founders, in your inbox every Monday. 👉 saltandlight.myflodesk.com/saltandlightadvisors

Need fractional HR support or want to talk through a specific challenge? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/contact

Ready to build foundational HR systems on your own? 👉 saltandlightadvisors.com/hrfoundations

Connect with Kerri: 📷 Instagram: instagram.com/kerrimroberts 💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kerrimroberts 🐎 Hippo Creek Farm on Instagram: instagram.com/hippocreekfarm

Episode-specific resources mentioned:

• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss & the Black Swan Group — blackswanltd.com
• Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher
• 3D Negotiation by David Lax & James Sebenius
• Hustle and Heart Podcast with Beth Donaldson — episode on confidence

Full show notes + transcript: kerrimroberts.com/dontwastethechaos/4

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