IES Blog

Career advice for women

Posted on September 10th, 2013 Read time: 1 minutes

Women occasionally experience difficulty in advancing through their chosen careers. There is a lot of talk about this issue in the media, and women are discussing ways to make their way through the corporate ranks. Whether they are permanent or contract workers, women can take action based on recent insights to improve their careers beyond what they may have believed to be possible. Human resources administration professionals may wish to give information about getting ahead as a working woman to their staff as well. Diversity in the upper levels of a company is vital to many organizations.

Claim expertise
Women may find it difficult to claim they are experts on any topic, despite how long they have been in the field or how many qualifications they have. To gain respect in the workplace, women should not be afraid to refer to themselves as experts when it is relevant. Anecdotal evidence suggests men are not shy about this, even when their qualifications may be lacking.

Negotiate
Women are on the whole more hesitant to negotiate than men, which often works against them. Negotiating the terms of a contract or one's salary can be successful. Negotiation can also fail, but it is never clear what the outcome will be unless a worker attempts it. 

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