On March 7 and 8 Idaho State University will be hosting a two-day $tart $mart workshop aimed at closing the wage disparity between men and women.
The workshops will run from 3 to 5 p.m. on March 7, and from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on March 8.
The workshop will be hosted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Janet C. Anderson Gender Resource Center.
The two-day workshop will focus on two key ways to help close the wage gap. One day will be spent learning tips and tricks for salary negotiation and the other will be spent on behavioral interviewing.
Linda Leeuwrik, an assistant professor in the ISU Department of Art and a long-time member of AAUW, feels that the workshop is invaluable.
“It is an absolutely documented fact that women start out with lower pay than men, but rarely catch up. That’s the whole point of this project, to help women get a better start.”
According to Leeuwrik, women are often lacking the bargaining skill possessed by their colleagues.
“Traditionally, women have been less skilled at negotiating,” she said.
Leeuwrik describes her own experiences with wage negotiation as “very uncomfortable. I think this workshop is invaluable in helping women gain that skill.”
The behavioral interviewing workshop will help women “draw on their experience” in interviews, according to Leeuwrik, allowing them to “maybe start will a higher salary; close that gap a bit. And the fact that these [workshops] are free — you have nothing to lose by participating.”
The workshop is open to ISU female students at all levels, as well as interested female members of the community.
To attend the $tart $mart workshop, pre-register online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/98H8CRF. For questions or comments, contact Åsa Burlin at ude.usinull@asalrub.