A memory exercise increased a sales offer, but not a salary offer
Business students who recalled when being a woman and a professional went together made higher offers in a hypothetical sale, but not in a salary negotiation.
The key idea
Believing you can ask for more and actually asking for more were different outcomes in the salary task.
The study, in plain language
Participants were asked to recall a situation in which being a woman and being a professional were compatible, or to complete a control task. They then stated an opening offer and how much they thought they could ask for without a male counterpart judging them as too demanding. There was no face-to-face negotiation; everything was hypothetical.
The result depended on the task. In the hypothetical sale, the exercise increased opening offers: the average was about $27 million with the exercise and about $24 million without it. In the salary negotiation, the exercise group believed it could ask for more without social backlash, but the initial salary offer did not differ. What changed was what seemed acceptable to ask for. The opening number itself did not appear to change.
What they found
- In the hypothetical sale, those who completed the exercise made higher opening offers than the control group.
- In the salary task, the opening offer was similar in both groups.
- In that same task, the exercise group believed it could ask for a higher salary without social backlash.
How they studied it
Two experiments involved female business students. In each, participants were randomly assigned either to recall a situation in which being a woman and a professional were compatible or to complete a control task. The analyses included 103 and 128 participants. Each then took part in a hypothetical negotiation over a sale or a salary.
What the study cannot show
- The tasks were hypothetical, with no agreement carrying financial consequences. The study did not measure salaries received, actual backlash, or closure of a pay gap.
Something to think about
A negotiation involves three different figures: what you believe is acceptable to ask for, your opening offer, and the final agreement. Ask yourself which of these matters most when it is your turn to make a request.
The original study
Inducing gender/professional identity compatibility promotes women’s compensation requests
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
One study alone does not represent a field's consensus. Educational content does not replace professional advice. Report a possible error.
