Some women don’t ask for pay raises because they’re afraid of the consequences

Over the past few years, women have been advised again and again to advocate for themselves in the workplace, promote their achievements, and to ask for a raise. And women actually do ask for raises roughly as often as men do—although with less success. 

But around 42% of women in the U.S. still have never once requested a pay raise, according to this year’s Future of Women in the Workplace report from job search platform Indeed. Out of that group, 31% say they didn’t ask because they lacked the confidence to do so, and the same number worried that asking would have negative consequences.  

“I think there’s a whole host of things that one might fear in that situation,” says Hannah Calhoon, head of AI innovation at Indeed and facilitator of the report. “Are they asking for too much, are they being too pushy? Are they putting their manager in a tough situation?”

On a global scale, around 63% of working women worldwide have never asked for a wage increase. That number rises to around 65% in Singapore, 68% in Italy, and 79% in Japan. The top reasons why were the same as women in the U.S.: a lack of confidence and fear of repercussions.

When women in the U.S. did ask for a wage increase, though, only 19% failed to get one at all, according to the Indeed report. Around 48% got less money than they hoped for, but 33% got what they wanted. Calhoon argues that the success rate is actually pretty good. 

“What this data suggests is the vast, vast majority of the time, if you go and ask for the raise, you’re going to get a raise,” says Calhoon. “Maybe it’s not all of the raise, maybe it’s not the perfect raise. But most of the time, when women do this, they are successful.” 

Calhoon adds that pay transparency can help everyone understand how their salaries stack up to other people in similar roles. Strong companies will also have networks that connect employees with mentors who can help them navigate the workplace, and articulate their own strengths. 

“Organizations should build cultures, processes, mentorship relationships, to give them support to be really successful as they grow their career,” she says.

Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com
@EmmaBurleigh1

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