Regardless of whether we work in a business that involves daily negotiations (purchases, sales) or our professional role is completely different, we negotiate every day. We assign common tasks to our colleagues, share responsibilities, apply for a raise, etc. We negotiate constantly, often many times in one day.

At work, women most often negotiate in the following areas:

• raise/bonus or additional benefits we deserve thanks to the effort and results of our work;
• division of tasks/responsibilities, i.e. the division of responsibilities and the scope of work to be performed, whether as part of a special project or standard tasks;
• development/training – opportunities to gain additional knowledge at the expense of our employer;
• work-life balance – separating work and private life and defending your right to rest and being with your family;

The main challenges faced by women negotiating are:

• emotions, or rather the inability to deal with them,
• lack of negotiation skills,
• separation of common and individual interests,
• fear of being ridiculed,
• fear of failure in negotiations,
• reluctance to be perceived as demanding,
• the desire to be liked, the inability to be assertive.

Ways to deal with challenges:

• Thorough preparation for negotiations. Equipped with data, information and knowledge needed during the process. The better prepared we are for the negotiation process, the fewer things will surprise us. The better prepared we are, the more confident we will feel and the more difficult it will be to throw us off balance;

• Learning to listen carefully/actively and look at the problem from your partners’ perspective. negotiations. The more carefully we listen, the more we will learn / the more information we will collect. The better we put ourselves in the shoes of our opponents, the easier it will be for us to come to terms with them.

• Acquiring the ability to take care of both your own interest and that of the entire team/department. Negotiating your salary is a success, but negotiating a raise or bonus for the entire team is an achievement.

• Giving up the desire to be accepted and liked by everyone. Understanding that we are the only person who can properly take care of our interests. And if we don’t take care of ourselves and our own interests, no one else will do it for us. Assimilating the truth that we won’t please everyone anyway.

• Learning from mistakes. Learning from every meeting. Not being discouraged by failures. Treating each negotiation meeting as the next step in the process of building your negotiation competences.

In my opinion, the main challenge for women negotiating is a kind of irrational shame. The impression that it is not appropriate to negotiate, or at least that it is not appropriate for us.

Source:https://poradniknegocjatora.pl/wyzwonia-przed-ktorymi-stoja-negocjujace-kobiety/

Supported by Norway through Norway Grants 2014-2021, in the frame of the Programme “Social Dialogue – Decent Work”.