business consultant

There are numerous reasons why women make 78 cents on the dollar compared to men. One of them is they do not ask for raises as often. According to NPR, men are four times more likely than women to ask for a salary raise.

This reluctance has a snowball effect. One small pay boost means bigger annual raises, bigger bonuses, and a larger salary being carried over to the next employer.

"I tell my graduate students that by not negotiating their job at the beginning of their career, they're leaving anywhere between $1 million and $1.5 million on the table in lost earnings over their lifetime," economist Linda Babcock of Carnegie Mellon University says.

Babcock also says that women can find negotiating their salary intimidating.