Q&A about Gender Wage Gap with Kimberly Slater-Wood

How do you think the wage gap affects Pittsburgh?
One of many areas the wage gap has affected Pittsburgh is socioeconomically  – There has been a permanent shift in our workforce – we have more women in the workforce than ever before;  we have more single mothers in the workforce than ever before; and more women of color in the workforce than every before  – yet the gender wage gap continues to widen.  It is not rocket science – the more money we make, the more we spend and more money is added to our economy.  We have been standing on the gender pay equity podium for far too long.  We want more than lip service from our elected officials – we want movement and we want to work collaboratively to shift the needle so that we all can enjoy a better quality of life.
 
How are you working to promote equality and diversity on your workplace?
I am working to promote equality and diversity in my workplace through proactive involvement on boards/ committees such as the Women and Girls Foundation, WISE (Women in Sports and Events) and Corporate Equity and Inclusion Roundtable.  Representation on these boards is crucial to advance our commitment of inclusion and diversity in our organization and is supported by our CEO.  These boards  provide great resources to identify best practices and models of diversity, inclusion and equity.  The Pens a paid WISE (Women in Sports and Events) membership to my female colleagues; the organization also supports an internal women’s leadership group proposal I am working on; and has hosted several women leadership events, most recently a negotiation presentation for Coro Center for Civil Leadership Training for Women.  We also actively seek qualified diverse candidates for employment opportunities and endorse MWBEs to participate in our supplier diversity program.
 
While we wait for the wage gap to “even out,” would you like to share any negotiation tips with us? or/and story where you negotiate? 
The best negotiation tip I can offer is to be confident, prepared and assertive –  our beloved MJ Tocci, co-founder of the Heinz Negotiation Academy for Women who left her indelible mark on our entire first cohort class –instructed us not to be afraid to ask for what we want and not to be afraid of the word “NO” – if you hear the word “no” it means that you are asking the right question and that you are closer to a “yes” than you think.  Since completing the Heinz Negotiation Academy for women, I actively seek opportunities to negotiate — professionally and personally.
 
Kimberly L. Slater-Wood, Director of Outreach for Pittsburgh Penguins 
Kimberly L. Slater-Wood, Director of Outreach for the Pittsburgh Penguins, represents the organization in community outreach, coordinating and implementing its supplier diversity program, developing workforce development procedures to increase employment opportunities and other internal diversity programs and initiatives. She also helps to promote and expand the Penguins inner-city youth hockey program — Pittsburgh ICE (Inclusion Creates Equality), which is diverse in gender and ethnicity.
Prior to joining the Penguins, Kimberly was diversity coordinator for the law firm of Burns White & Hickton, LLC (now Burns White, LLC) implementing measures to recruit, retain and promote women and minorities in the legal industry.
Kimberly attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and completed the first cohort class of Heinz Negotiation Academy for Women at CMU.  She recently led one-on-one negotiation coaching sessions at the 2013 National Diversity Women’s Business Leadership Conference in Washington, DC.
Kimberly is a strong advocate for the rights of women and gender pay equity.  She serves on the host committee for the Athena Award and is on the board of Women and Girls Foundation where she served as MC for Equal Pay Day 2013.  Additionally, she is a board member of WISE (Women in Sports and Events) Pittsburgh Chapter and the Advisory Board of Renewal, Inc., which assists formerly incarcerated individuals rebuild their lives. Kimberly is fervently involved in her community and serves on additional boards of Thelma Lovette YMCA, Wilkinsburg Boys & Girls Club, Pittsburgh Green Innovators, ACH Clearpathways, MACAC (Mt. Ararat Community Activity Center) and Western Pennsylvania Tuskegee Airmen Memorial Project.
Kimberly was honored as an award recipient of 2011 New Pittsburgh Courier’s 50 Women of Excellence.  She is a long-time City of Pittsburgh resident and lives at Crawford Square.