When it comes to asking for a raise, lots of folks get butterflies — or cold feet. But if you're wondering if there are some groups that are just more comfortable in the salary negotiation arena, there are.
According to a study from Fractl, women definitely come out the worst in the quest for more money at work. Out of a diverse group of 2,000, of whom 51.8 percent overall had asked for a raise at some point in their careers, women lagged behind men in doing so — and, probably not all that surprisingly, were substantially more uncomfortable than men in the process.
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While 60.5 percent of men say they are comfortable or very comfortable asking the boss to fork over more funds, just 50.9 percent of women are — and when it comes to being uncomfortable or very uncomfortable, 26.4 percent of women re, compared with just 17.3 percent of men.
When race and ethnicity are factored into the equation, the results become even more interesting, although not necessarily in a good way. Overall, 39.4 percent of women believe they haven't been given a raise because of gender or race/ethnicity.
Although more white women ask for raises (58.6 percent) more than of any other ethnicity (Hispanic/Latino Americans, 53.3 percent; African Americans, 52.7 percent; Asian Americans, 45.2 percent), 16.7 percent of them felt they'd been passed over for a raise because of their gender. But among various ethnic groups, it gets more complicated.
Among Hispanic/Latino American women, 4.6 percent feel they'd been passed over for a raise because of race, while 13.7 percent say it happened because of gender. But 22.6 percent feel they'd been passed over because of a combination of factors.
Among African American women, 11.3 percent say they'd been passed over because of race, while 6.5 percent say it happened because of gender and 26.4 percent say it was a combination of factors. Just 3.9 percent of Asian-American women say they hadn't gotten a raise because of race, but 11.2 percent say it was because of gender — and 22.7 percent say it was because of a combination of factors.
When actually trying to get that raise, 55.1 percent of respondents overall asay they would feel more comfortable negotiating a raise with someone who is the same race/ethnicity. African Americans and Hispanic/Latino Americans are the most likely to say they would feel more comfortable negotiating a raise with someone who is the same race/ethnicity, while white Americans are the most likely to say that race/ethnicity wouldn't make a difference.
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