Idaho State University to host $tart $mart training workshop geared toward women for negotiating pay

The American Association of University Women’s $tart $mart initiative will offer a salary-negotiating workshop geared towards women on Dec. 4 at Idaho State University.

Participation is aimed at ISU women seniors or graduate students, but community members may attend on a space-available basis. The workshop will be held from 3 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4 in the ISU Pond Student Union Clearwater Room.

There is no cost for the workshop, but pre-registration is required because of limited seating. Visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Behavioral_Interviewing-Start_Smart to pre-register.

This salary-negotiating workshop will train women to benchmark the salary of their first job and successfully negotiate pay that puts them on par with their male counterparts. The training is co-sponsored by the Pocatello Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the ISU Anderson Gender Resource Center.

Although fair labor laws have been in place for many years, research published by the AAUW verifies that the gender wage gap continues to plague women. Studies show that the gap starts with the first job out of college and continues. A woman will likely earn $1 million less than her male counterpart over the course of her career, according to the AAUW.

As a result of the findings, the national AAUW joined with the Women Are Getting Even (WAGE) Project to develop training to better prepare young women to join the workforce with a salary and benefit package commensurate with that of men with the same credentials.

AAUW is joining with campus departments to sponsor the training at colleges and universities throughout the country.

The AAUW mission is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Membership is open to anyone holding an associate or equivalent, baccalaureate or higher degree from a regionally accredited college or university.

Idaho State University is an institutional partner of the Pocatello Branch of AAUW, and students enrolled at ISU are eligible to receive a free e-Student Affiliation membership. For information or to join, visit http://pocatello-id.aauw.net/ or contact Linda Leeuwrik, leeulind@isu.edu.

For more information on the workshop, contact Linda Leeuwrik; Stephanie Richardson, 282-3590 or richstep@isu.edu; or visit www.isu.edu/andersoncenter.