€300,000 euros, which is how much women miss out on salary on average. How so? Pay gap. That, like the wealth gap, is still a reality in the Netherlands, and not by much. And that is distressing. Someone who is working hard for this is Sophie van Gool. Owner of Salaristijger, author of the book “Why Women Earn Less,” and columnist for the FD. In honor of Elfin’s October 6, 2021 master class on salary negotiation and the publication of her book 5 Questions for Sophie van Gool.
What was your biggest eye opener while writing your book about women and making money?
How huge inequality is and that it literally occurs in every country, in every sector and virtually every organization. When I started I thought, “ooh, this is typically Dutch,” or “typical of my employer. But as I talked to more people in different countries, companies and professions, I saw that it was more or less the same everywhere. In some industries, of course, it is slightly better than others, but really nowhere are men and women equal.
You are making a case for an issue that is deeply rooted in our world. How do you maintain courage and patience to create change in such a large topic that is improving so slowly?
Good question! Sometimes I do get a little discouraged when I see how intractable the problems are and how slow it is. But there are always bright spots, too: a woman who tells me that for the first time in her salary negotiation, she specifically asked about equal pay, or someone who, after reading my book, dared to speak out against her sexist boss after all.
And sometimes it also takes time: I once talked to a man who thought it was all nonsense and had counter-arguments for everything, and then two years later he called me to ask if I wanted to do a presentation on the wage gap for his company, because he had thought and read about it some more and now recognized that it was very persistent after all. From the fact that people can change their minds (and behavior), even if it sometimes takes a lot of effort and time, I draw a lot of hope.
Laying the solution on the individual – the woman – to close the salary gap is one-sided. What other solutions do you think there should be?
The government can do much more to ensure that unpaid work is better distributed between m/f, for example, make child care free and extend leave arrangements for partners. They can also more strictly control the wage gap and issues such as pregnancy discrimination. This has long been prohibited by law, but still happens a lot! Employers can examine and close the wage gap internally, and take much more initiative to ensure that women have equal opportunities.
From
surveys
emerges that women say they are aware of the income gap, but men say they do not see it. How do you think that came about?
It’s a blind spot: many men think, oh that doesn’t happen to me, so it doesn’t exist. They are unaware of their own position and unnoticed advantages they have in the workplace. For example, that their boss is almost always a man, that they are almost always in the majority, have always seen many male role models in powerful positions. They cannot imagine how it is different.
On a positive note, what positive change have you already noticed in terms of equal rights, opportunities and income for women?
All the messages I get from readers make me hopeful! Anyone who reads the book and starts getting angry about inequality gives me hope, because eventually that anger turns into action!
Especially for Elfin readers, we have a sneak peek of Sophie’s book. Click here to read the first chapter!
