Women Consultants, It’s Time To End Your Gender Pay Gap
This was originally posted on my Seven Figure Consultant LinkedIn Newsletter. Subscribe today to get insights about how women are building powerful and impactful consulting businesses.
“I would really like to raise my prices…. But I also feel like I can’t. But I happen to know that so-and-so, this guy who consults in the same field as me, he has a day rate that is three times what mine is.”
I can’t count the number of times I’ve coached a client who is having this problem.
Sometimes it’s because the guy they’re referring to is more experienced than they are.
But it’s more often the case that my client is experiencing a chronic crisis of confidence around their own abilities, which is far more common for women than for men.
One of the key things I help my clients to do is see a more realistic version of themselves that they do currently, or they have previously.
The problem isn’t their expertise, experience or skill level.
It’s that they don’t see themselves as they truly are.
In my experience, it is far more common for women to undervalue their expertise and experience. It is far more common for them to charge less than they should, and less than their male counterparts. And in almost every conversation I’ve had in the last 12 months where a woman has been considering raising her prices, it has included a strong element of adding features to justify the price increase.
You know – ‘they won’t pay more for my time than that, so I need to add in extras to justify the additional cost’.
And I have to tell you. This is something that successful men just do not struggle with in the same way.
I need you to know that the gender pay gap exists, even for women who set their own rates, because it’s common for women to undercharge and overdeliver all at the same time.
And do you know who has the power to change that?
You do.
You can get every other element of your business primed and ready for growth, but if you’re stuck on the same old blocks and mindset battles, your business won’t progress anywhere.
Is pricing something you struggle with? Or maybe you’ve devised a strategy for overcoming any resistance you feel when increasing your rates?
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Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your feedback and future topics you’d like me to feature. You may also enjoy The Seven Figure Consultant Podcast, the show that takes you from booked up and burned out in your consulting business to THRIVING as the CEO of your 7 figure enterprise.