The Liminal Librarian

I recently read a post over at Feministing about the idea of a “share your salary” pact, which relates the following anecdote (from Pink magazine, although the linked article doesn’t contain it; it is in the full article in the print version):

Apparently Gloria Steinem once told a room full of corporate execs that they should pick one woman in the room and make a pact to always be honest with one another about their salaries. Paula Henderson, one of the young women in the room, made just such a pact, and through twenty years of career changes and economic ups and downs, she estimates that having that transparency made she and her pact partner about three million dollars!

I’m thinking that number might be somewhat less in the library field. However, the case for transparency stands: What if early career librarians made a similar pact with one another? Not to go all Schoolhouse Rock on you, but knowledge is power. Although librarians who are public employees have some built-in transparency there already, this info is often buried (use those mad librarian skills to find it; you might be shocked!). Taking inspiration from someone who graduated (or started working) around the same time as you, as you watch each others’ salaries/job titles leapfrog one another, might spur you to move forward in your career or negotiate what you’re worth.

Trouble negotiating? Be sure to read both Women Don’t Ask and the followup Ask for It, by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. Get angry, then get to asking — or at least set the idea aside for when our craptactular economy begins to rebound.

On a related note, Feministing also recently linked to this cheery little Equal Pay commercial (video, sound, language warning). The underlying issues here are fodder for another post (or twelve), but these are issues we should be thinking and talking more about in a still female-dominated profession.