Female execs must negotiate their worth

Female executives have been urged to negotiate their worth in the workplace, especially if they want to receive fair recognition for their efforts.

“Your worth is partly going to be accessed by the value you bring to the company,” said Dawn Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Tracmac Engineering, a subsidiary of the Neal and Massy Group. She was one of the feature speakers at a breakfast seminar hosted by the Scotiabank Women’s Network at the Crowne Plaza last Friday.

She took the view that, when given new roles, women should try to develop better organisational skills in the workplace before attempting to negotiate a better compensation package.

“Focus instead on performance, the titles and the money will eventually come,” she advised.

“If you constantly miss deadlines, don’t return calls, misplace important files and documents, you will know that you need improvement in this area,” she added.

One major issue raised by the women during a question and answer segment was that most males were given first preference on job promotions, as they were able to put in longer hours.

However, management consultant, Donald Walker, took a different tack.

“It is not about gender, it is about you using your worth to maximise and optimise , in terms of the world of work, ” he stated.

He is of the view that whether a woman is single with children or married with children, if she wants to achieve a specific goal, sacrifices have to be made.

He said all persons have a sense of worth, but how they utilise it in the workplace determines the level or heights they reach.

He added that some people fail to realise that when they are at a workplace, they are on candid camera as they are always being monitored and noticed by employers and co-workers.

“If you are going to be working and plan to move up in any organisation you have to understand how to treat people well, not just those in authority,” he said.

Treating persons with respect, recognising the efforts of others, and being empathetic are good leadership practices which will win the support of others, he advised.

“The more healthy a relationship you have with others, the more influence you have,” he said, adding that communication is the key to moving ahead.

Whether someone’s boss is a male or female should not make a difference, he added.

Also speaking at the event was voice coach, Sally Rochford who urged the women to use their voices as a mechanism to get ahead.

“The way you speak and your poise says a lot about your character,” she said.

The seminar was attended by close to 200 women at executive and senior levels within the private and public sectors.

Following the presentations, roundtable discussions were conducted during which the impact of gender stereotyping on the progression of women in organisations was explored.

The Scotiabank Women’s network was establish in June 2004 and has played a significant role in providing opportunities for the female management staff of Scotiabank TT Limited.