WomenWomenSarah Silverman

Ladies, Sarah Silverman Wants You To Ask For A Raise

Ladies, Sarah Silverman Wants You To Ask For A Raise
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Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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Sarah Silverman is standing up against wage inequality by asking for more.

Silverman teamed up with Levo in a new video for Levo's #Ask4More campaign to talk about the gender pay gap and how it's affected her throughout her career.

The 44-year-old comedian began with an anecdote about a time she and a male comedian performed the same show, but she was paid less. "He just got $60, and I just got $10. We did the exact same time back-to-back on the same show," she said. "It's pretty shitty."

Silverman noted that there are many different variables that influence pay, including experience and output -- but if the work is equal, the pay should be too. “If you work a job and a man is working the same job, you should be getting paid the same," she said. "I don't think anyone's asking for more than what's fair."

Women tend to wait for perfection before asking for more. Silverman shared a lesson from years of playing basketball with all guys as an example of how women can't be afraid of failure. "You can’t take a shot and miss and feel like it means you’ve missed a hundred shots and that you’re burdening your team," Silverman said. “The guys shoot and miss all the time, most of the time. And they get better."

The pay gap is an issue that impact women across socioeconomic and racial groups -- no matter what field they work in. The wage gap only grows larger as women age, with women earning 90 percent of what men make until 35, after which they are paid 75–80 percent of what men are paid. And many women of color are hit even harder by the wage gap, with Latina women earning just 54 percent of every dollar a white man males, and black women earning 64 percent.

And things aren't changing nearly fast enough. A recent report showed that in a few parts of the U.S. women won't see equal pay until 2100.

“I think as women, as a whole, if we can understand what we deserve… we [can understand that] we deserve quality lives," Silverman says. “Go ahead, ask for more.”

On it. Thanks, Sarah.

H/T Marie Claire

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Before You Go

What These Powerful Women Would Have Told Their 22-Year-Old Selves
What These Powerful Women Would Have Told Their 22-Year-Old Selves(01 of06)
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Whether you're a new graduate eager to take the job world by storm or a seasoned adult embarking on a career change, navigating a successful path can be a daunting task. Just take it from some of the most powerful and influential women in the workforce.In LinkedIn's "If I Were 22" series, some of business' biggest heavy-hitters shared the wisdom they've gained from years of hard work, success and a few mistakes. How did nearly 90 percent of influencers polled end up "doing something they never imagined?" Some of our favorite advice from women, listed below, may have had something to do with it. (credit:Tumblr)
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Helene Gayle, President and CEO of CARE, on following your passion:(05 of06)
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"Great breakthroughs don’t happen when you’re half-hearted. They require people who are emotionally and intellectually invested in what they’re doing. Find your passion and hang on to it. Never forget what motivated you to get to where you are today."
Sallie Krawcheck, former head of Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney and owner of the professional woman’s network 85 Broads, on first job woes:(06 of06)
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"Keep a running note of what works and what doesn’t work for you, what you like and what you don’t like, what you’re good and what you aren’t, the work styles that suit you and what doesn’t, where you passions lie and what leaves you cold. The chance of the stars aligning on these fronts in your first job, or even your first couple of jobs, is very low, so you’ll have to keep searching."Well, now we know who we want to be when we grow up.
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