Abstract:
The choice to abstain from salary negotiations can have a profound compounding effect on
the earnings of an employee over the timespan of their career. If gender is a distinguishing
characteristic separating those employees who choose to negotiate from those who choose
not to, then salary negotiation becomes a contributing factor to the gender wage gap. This
study investigated perceived gender differences across three constructs, namely (i)
negotiation empowerment (ii) pay secrecy, and (iii) the social cost of negotiation within the
financial services industry in South Africa.
The study made use of a seven-point Likert scale instrument to document perceptions of the
respondents. The survey was distributed electronically, making use of a snowball sampling
methodology. Contrary to the majority of existing cross-industry literature, the findings show
no gendered results across the three constructs. However, the research did find that females
do not negotiate salary as often as males, and that both males and females prefer negotiating
with male managers. A negotiation gender bias was also found amongst the respondents.
The study furthers existing research by demonstrating industry specific studies may not
conform to the findings of cross-industry studies. It also provides relevant findings for
organisations looking to eliminate gendered structures around pay determination.
