Pushback: How Smart Women Ask--and Stand Up--for What They Want

Census statistics show that women still earn 77 percent of what men earn. Despite this pay gap, women still negotiate four times less often than their male counterparts, resulting in less advancement opportunities, fewer plum assignments and lower pay. Why does this persistent problem always seem to exist?

In Pushback: How Smart Women Ask – and Stand Up – For What they Want (Jossey-Bass; 978-1-1181-0490-3; April 2012), top leadership consultant Selena Rezvani argues that self-advocacy is critical to success and teaches women the essential art of asking for what they want and of pushing back to get it. Emphasizing that a full 60% of woman’s career success hinges on her “pushback” skills, Rezvani  shines a light on the real rules of holding your own and asking for what you want. Through actionable tips from successful female executives, such as: Marie Chandoha, CEO of Charles Schwab Investment Management; Cindi Bigelow, President of Bigelow Tea Company; Fizzah Jafri, COO at Morgan Stanley; and Rosemary Turner, President at UPS, Pushback addresses professional women’s most pressing issues:

• Why negotiation represents the single most important skill for Gen Y women -- and how learning the art of negotiating early can increase a woman’s overall happiness and wellbeing later in life.
• How working mothers can and should use negotiation as a lever for getting support and accommodations -- from employers to family members.
• Five forms of self advocacy that the next generation of women leaders must know in order to succeed in business and move into top positions.
• How women can successfully bargain using their natural assets - whether for a new job, a flexible arrangement, paid leave, or better compensation and benefits.

“More than anything, people negotiate less than they should because of low expectations.  By setting our sights high and equipping ourselves with new skills, we can get “yes” decisions from others - thereby improving our professional and personal lives,” says author Selena Rezvani.

Written in a "from-me-to-you" style and filled with poignant personal anecdotes from successful female executives, Pushback is essential for any women at any spectrum of her career who wants to fast-track her success.