In Workplace, Haggling Widens Gender Gap

Study shows women's smoother elbows may be holding them back
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 30, 2007 5:00 PM CDT
In Workplace, Haggling Widens Gender Gap
Panel moderator Betsy Willis, Ph.D., of Southern Methodist University, left, shares a laugh during a panel discussion hosted by the Alliance of Technology and Women in Dallas, Texas, on May 19, 2004.   (KRT Photos)

Women are less likely to initiate negotiations for promotions and raises, which may help explain salary and career gaps between the genders, according to new research. "There is an economic rationale to negotiate, but you have to weigh that against social risks of negotiating,"' one researcher says. "What we show is those risks are higher for women than for men."

A second study, WaPo reports, reveals an understandable reluctance by women to strong-arm employers, who prefer docile female employees. Either way, subtle sexism appears to play a major role in the career game, even if it's sometimes from the bottom up. (More career stories.)

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