Mad Men's golden girl Peggy Olson did more for us than reinstate a love of retro prints and hot rollers; she gave us the on-screen evolution from timid assistant to powerhouse creative. Watching her navigate a workforce systemically against her with tongue-biting restraint, Peggy fought tooth and nail to be recognized for her talent, with monetary remuneration.
At Girlboss, we've been talking about salary negotiation for years because the data keeps giving us reason to. Research from 2024 shows that women now negotiate their pay at least as often as men do. And yet the pay gap keeps widening. Which means the ask is no longer the only barrier. How you build the case, how you time it, and how you frame your value still matters enormously.
As journalist and Working Women's Club founder Phoebe Lovatt writes in The Working Woman's Handbook, the question attributed to Ann Friedman cuts right to it: "If you don't negotiate your salary, who will?" Here's how to plan it, propose it, and prove your case, and why you don't have to wait for your annual review to do it.
Plan It
The first step to asking for a raise is knowing you're actually in a position to do so. As Phoebe Lovatt puts it in her "New Rules of Work" series: "Simply to ask more of yourself first and foremost. Once you know you're doing a really, really good job, you'll feel way more comfortable about expecting the money to match."
For market-based evidence on what you should be earning, Career Contessa's The Salary Project is one of the best anonymous salary databases around — you can filter by industry, title, and location to see real numbers from real people. But benchmarks are a starting point, not a ceiling.
Picture yourself as the CMO of your own career, no, really. Reese Evans, founder of Yes Supply, puts it directly: your education and experience only determine so much. "In the real world, what really matters is how you show up. A company wants to know, 'How is this going to turn into a positive ROI?'" That's the question your raise request has to answer.
Not sure where you stand before the conversation? This deep-dive on asking for a raise walks through how to connect your performance to the business outcomes your manager actually cares about.
Propose It
Like any good relationship, how you value yourself shapes how others value you. Sarah Mick, co-creator and CCO at Own. and former chief creative officer at Bumble, believes personal growth outside the workplace will only improve your professional output.
"One, get a therapist. Seriously, it's not embarrassing, and anyone can benefit from a third party to bounce things off of. Two, evaluate your personal relationships. Never undervalue the ability to walk away. Aside from that, just get up every day and think about the things you admire about yourself. Fall in love and defend those things to the very end," she says.
Research has consistently shown differences in how women and men approach negotiation, which remains a contributing factor to the gender pay gap. Take your time with the delivery. Rushing it will only hinder your ability to truly sell yourself.
If the idea of the conversation makes you want to evaporate, you're not alone. This first-person account of negotiating a raise for the first time is worth reading for the honest reality of what it feels like — and how to get through it anyway.
Prove It
Now that you've done the internal work, you need to come with the goods. Do whatever is going to help you tell your story best: a presentation, a document, a clear list of wins with numbers attached. Here are the thought-starters to build your case:
Review your original job description; has your role changed? Have you taken on duties outside what you were hired for?
Identify four to five major contributions you owned and excelled at. If it's trackable, bring the hard numbers: revenue influenced, accounts grown, team members managed, social growth, time saved.
Compare your goals from when you started to where you are now. Note what you've followed through on.
Bring supportive feedback from clients or teammates, especially if your manager isn't around day-to-day and may not see the full picture.
Outline your dedication to the company: events attended on their behalf, new business brought in, cross-team support given.
And if your proposal gets turned down — if the response goes something like, "It's not going to happen, Peggy. I'm fighting for paper clips around here" — know that your pitch proved more about your self-worth and investment in the company than any "yes" ever has.
Take your boss literally when they say "let's talk again in six months." Then bring it right back up again.
If you got a promotion but the money didn't move with it, this guide to navigating a promotion without a raise covers exactly how to keep pushing. And if you're wondering whether you're underpaid compared to a coworker, this piece on finding out a male colleague earns more has a step-by-step plan for what to do next.
The raise isn't going to ask for itself. You are.
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