Are you a Woman in Tech who is Underpaid, Overworked, and Un-invested? Are you unhappy?

Whooooeeee, did this week’s Celebrate BRAVE podcast episode – Are you a woman in tech who is underpaid, overworked, and un-invested? – get some blood boiling.

Numerous women in tech wrote me and posted online about how encouraging and motivating the episode was for them to step into their BRAVE:

• “It’s like you’re speaking to me”
• “F*ck, I HAVE NORMALIZED BEING UNDERPAID – WTF”
• “I listened, it was hard to listen to, made a meeting with my manager – I’m asking finally [for that raise]”
• “How can it be that we as women accept that being paid less is ok? Are we doing a lesser job? Of course not! And why do we not invest in ourselves to grow and learn?”

Other women in tech wrote about how the episode missed the mark:

• “Exactly how am I supposed to not normalizing (six) what is normal”
• “This time you missed the mark. What is normal, is normal. And getting angry about it doesn’t help anyone.”
• “Not all of us get to just drop everything and get paid more. I hate that it is true but it is.”

Y’all. I was terrified to share this episode. That’s why I knew I had to.

Because I agree with every single woman who took the time to write to me:

The women who are struggling with the realities of the tech industry and feel disempowered and stuck.

• I agree because just a few years ago all this was REAL and normal to me too. I was stuck: of course my pay was lower, of course my title did not reflect the impact of my work, of course I was unhappy…that’s just how it is for women in tech. And, anyways, we have it better than teachers, amIright?

I lived it. I was that woman.

And

The women who are struggling with the realities of the tech industry and believe they can change their experience.

• I agree because I became that woman. I became the woman who knew and believed in her goal, who shared her goal with just about everyone, who created her reality: massive growth in my salary, earning the promotion and the title that reflected the impact I created, and expecting that I was doing well – thriving – as a woman in tech.

I lived it. I became that woman.

Now I am the woman who helps other women in tech all over the world become well paid, get their promotions, and actually thrive …tech realities be damned.

COMMON vs. NORMAL 

The power rests in understanding the difference between these two words:

• Common = the same in a lot of places or a lot of people: “A common working day lasts 10 hours.”
• Normal: ordinary or usual; the same as would be expected: “A normal working day is 8 hours.”

It is common for a woman in tech to be underpaid, overworked, un-invested, and unhappy.

That is not normal. Not at all.

What is normal is a woman in tech who is paid well, promoted and working well, investing in and investing in herself, and thriving in her career.

But we’ve gotten it messed up. As a global community of women in tech, we’ve built a belief that what is common is also normal.

We are wrong.

Look, this episode holds a truth that has to be said, repeated, re-stated, and discussed over and over again:

It is up to us, the women in tech, to stop normalizing bullshit about being underpaid, overworked, and un-invested. We have to stop being confused about what is common and what is normal.

• It is not normal to be underpaid.
• It is not normal to be overworked (under-promoted).
• It is not normal to limp along without investing in skills and experiences.
• It is not normal to be unhappy as women in tech.

Common? Sure.

Normal. Nope.

Shifting this belief rests with us. It is up to us, the women in tech, to shift what is currently uncommon but normal, into what is both common and the norm.

It must become the norm and common AF that:

• Women in Tech are paid well (just like men in tech).
• Women in Tech are promoted for the level of impact they are making *as well* their potential (just like men in tech).
• Women in Tech are thriving at work, enjoying their careers, and feeling good about their future and opportunities (yup, just like men in tech).

Look, for yeeeeaaaarrrrssss, I got this all messed up and the majority of my clients arrive messing this too.

But the TRUTH is that you get to decide if you are going to remain common or if you are going to become normal: well paid, promoted, and enjoying your career. 

It may sound crazy and unreachable, like it will take years to accomplish, and be super hard and complicated.

It isn’t.

You just need three simple steps to reject being common and start becoming the norm, in just six months:

1. You need crystal-clarity about your goal, why it matters to you, and what is holding you back right now.
2. You need a simple, effective plan that elevates your strengths and keeps you moving with regular results.
3. You need to build accountability so that you stop making up excuses, reject what is common, and get paid well, get promoted, and start really enjoying your career.  

You can be well paid, promoted, and happy as a woman in tech.

It is totally possible – my clients do it every day.

Want all this for you too? I can help. Schedule your discovery call.