Though women now make up the majority of the work force for the first time in U.S. history, they earn only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.

“Women are not getting equal pay after all these years,” says Amy Small, representing the Westchester chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). “It starts out from the moment they negotiate or fail to negotiate a salary.”

Indeed, a woman will earn anywhere from $700,000 to $2 million less than a man in the course of her lifetime.

Now several groups operating locally and nationally are trying to address that inequity. In the fall of 2007, the WAGE (Women Are Getting Even) Project Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating the gender pay gap, launched the $tart $mart Campus Initiative. $tart $mart offers workshops to college students ”“ primarily women though not limited to them ”“ on how to negotiate a salary.

Less than two years later, WAGE teamed with the AAUW to bring $tart $mart to campuses nationwide. To date, $tart $mart has held 116 workshops at 95 colleges and universities in 29 states. They include several in Dutchess County ”“ the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park; Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh; and Dutchess County Community College, Marist College and Vassar College, all in Poughkeepsie.

The goal is 500 campuses by 2012.

The Westchester chapter”™s Pay Equity Outreach Group is trying to emulate the success of the Dutchess branch, Small says, but is having a hard time interesting its particular groves of academe ”“ Concordia College in Bronxville, The College of New Rochelle, Iona College in New Rochelle, Manhattanville College in Purchase, Pace University in Pleasantville, Purchase College, Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers and Westchester Community College in Valhalla.

The two reasons given, Small says, are the workshop”™s fee ($500 per school) and the difficulty in getting 30 students to commit to the three-hour session. She suggests that the schools, which pair up nicely geographically, might want to share a workshop. So far, though, no takers.

Angela Cherubini, director of career counseling at Sarah Lawrence, says she likes the $tart $mart approach and would be interested in the program in the future.

“However,” she adds, “we are limited on funds and felt our office needed to do more programming about searching for a job in this climate rather than negotiating salary once you get the job offer.”

There are reasons women are not as good as men at negotiating a salary that have nothing to do with economics. Either because of nature or nurture ”“ or maybe a bit of both ”“ they”™re not as assertive as men, Small says.

This appears to be changing: In “The End of Men” ”“ a provocative, absorbing essay for the cover of  the July/August issue of The Atlantic ”“ author Hanna Rosin argues that women are leaving men in the dust academically, professionally, biologically and socially, with profound cultural consequences, not all of which are good for women or society.

Nonetheless, Small says young women need a workshop to help them figure out their worth and maximize it from the get-go: “Women are still not confident enough to ask for what they want.”

 

Salary points

Looking to make the most of yourself in the marketplace? Here are five tips for negotiating a better salary, courtesy of Roli Wendorf, chair of the Pay Equity Outreach Group, Westchester AAUW:

Consider your ideal salary, based on your skills, expected job title, experience and geographic location. There are many wage calculators on the Internet, including wageproject.salary.com

Figure out your own bottom line ”“ the lowest salary you will accept ”“ based on the range of salaries for your skills and a budget for living in your geographic area. (Remember that 20 percent to 30 percent of your income will go to taxes.)
Position yourself for the salary negotiation by trying to gauge what your would-be employer is ideally looking for.
Practice getting across your strengths and what is special about you.

Remember that the salary is not the only thing that may be negotiated. You could angle for a better job title, benefits, flexibility and educational opportunities.