Want higher pay? Workshops aim to teach women in Wichita how to negotiate
A new project plans to train 1,000 Wichita women to better negotiate salaries as the city faces problems retaining college-educated women.
Harvard-trained economic analyst James Chung, who undertook a wide-ranging evaluation of Wichita’s strengths and weaknesses, found the city should have 4,000 more college-educated women in the workforce for an economy of its size. The report called on Wichita to come up with ways to retain and attract college-educated women.
Now, the American Association of University Women, or AAUW, along with the Junior League of Wichita will offer 24 workshops over the next year to train women how to negotiate for higher pay.
“I think it’s going to help empower our women with the confidence to negotiate our salaries and to begin to close that wage gap. Wichita, we need to do what we can to help Kansas women earn what they’re worth,” said Kim Doze-Lohmann, director of marketing at Martin Pringle Law Firm who helped bring the training to Wichita.
The 2017 median annual earnings for women in Kansas were 77 percent of the earnings of men, according to the AAUW’s examination of Census data. Median earnings for men were $49,267 and $37,931 for women.
That places Kansas 42nd out of 50 states in median pay disparity.
Across the country, the National Women’s Law Center has found that a woman who works full-time typically loses $406,760 over a 40-year career based on the current wage gap. The lost wages harm women’s ability to save for retirement, the center says.
Chung’s analysis found the wage gap is wider in Wichita than most cities. Women make about 80 cents to every dollar earned by men nationally but only 72 cents to every dollar in Wichita.
The trainings are not necessarily in response to the Chung findings, Doze-Lohmann said. But “the timing was just right.”
“There’s still a lot to be done, and we certainly aren’t saying that this is going to combat everything that James Chung said about women leaving our community. But it is one step in the right direction,” Doze-Lohmann said.
The trainings are free and are each two hours long. At least one training is already posted online: Sept. 30 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Wichita Chamber of Commerce.
Online training is also available through AAUW, but Doze-Lohmann wants to train women in person whenever possible because of the value of connecting with other women in the room.
The $35,000 project is being funded by the Wichita Community Foundation, Westar/Evergy, WSU Tech, Martin Pringle and two silent partners.
“I am really hoping to learn some valuable skills and tactics that I can not only utilize myself in future employment opportunities but also teach and mentor others to do so as well,” said Jeanne Clement, a marketing and communications professional in Wichita and a Junior League member who plans to attend the training.
More than 30,000 women have been trained nationwide through the program, according to the AAUW. Those who attend the workshops leave knowing how to determine their market worth based on their skills, experience, performance, qualification and on-the-job responsibilities, the association says.
The Work Smart program isn’t new to the region. Last year, AAUW and the Women’s Foundation brought the trainings to Kansas City.
“The gender pay gap starts just one year out of college, and the disadvantages escalate over time,” AAUW CEO Kimberly Churches said when Kansas City’s program was announced in August 2018.
Doze-Lohmann said the program is for women doing any job, from those negotiating over a salary for the first time to those who took a break from their career and are preparing to re-enter the workforce.
“There’s a real economic impact to working in Wichita. And what we’ve found is that if women don’t negotiate their first salary then they start out at a deficit. And women don’t know to negotiate. Generally speaking, we lack the confidence and the skill set,” Doze-Lohmann said.
“So we just want to empower and arm Wichita women with the skills to negotiate and get what they deserve.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 6:30 PM.
