Having read the article ‘They Don’t Negotiate’: Why Young Women College Graduates Are Still Paid Less Than Men (huffingtonpost.com) I still maintain the view that essentially women have as much potential as men to be good at negotiation.

As a negotiation trainer I encounter lots of women who are good at the “soft skills” of negotiation – listening, exploring and focusing on common ground. But I also see some women who are great at so-called “push behaviour”, which you use in negotiating to pursue your own agenda.

It may be that some women are held back as negotiators by perceived barriers as to how they should behave or what jobs they should aspire to. However, we are all capable of influencing our “state” in a positive manner in preparation for a negotiation. We can break up our normal patterns of thought and (for example) introduce a more positive and ambitious mindset. And if women are able to do that then they have no less potential than any man to negotiate successfully.