Cindy Gallop is the wise, whip-you-into-shape internet mentor you never knew you needed. Oh, but you do. Because this lady will help you gain the confidence — and learn the right moves — to make all the bucks. The British advertising consultant and entrepreneur has launched a chatbot that will help you ask for and get the raise you deserve. Because as we all know, women are still making 80 cents to a man's dollar and no amount of variables such as experience or child-rearing makes up for the fact that many industries simply choose to pay women less because they can.
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The chatbot, which was launched today to mark Equal Pay Day, reports Mashable, gets right to the point in its introduction: "Let me start by saying that talking about your salary may feel awkward. Jam those feelings down the nearest garbage disposal. You ready to get the money you deserve?" (Hell, yeah!)
From there, the friendly chatbot asks for your employer's zip code, your job title, and how long you've been at your job. Then, she tells you the salary you should be making according to your title and location, but adds, "It’s good to know the facts, but it’s better to make a shit ton of money." Amen. After you've got the facts down, she turns to strategy, coaching you through negotiating your salary. She sums up your conversation with bullet points, so you now have something to take to your boss.
"My favorite [strategy] is, ask yourself, 'WWASWGD?' What Would A Straight White Guy Do? Do that," is typical of the type of wisdom the bot dispenses. Actually, "What Would A Straight White Guy Do?" is now our favorite new question to ask ourselves, in most any situation.
The bot was created by ad agency R/GA and is being promoted with the help of The Muse, Ladies Get Paid, Reply.ai, and PayScale. Gallop is a longtime member and advisor of The List, a network and visibility platform for professional women, and we've seen a lot of her wisdom there — like "There is a lot of money to be made by taking women seriously" — through the years.
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"It's extraordinarily powerful how confident [Gallop] is — it’s almost contagious," R/GA senior copywriter Kate Carter, who wrote the bot, told Mashable.
At this point, you're probably tempted to try it for yourself: You can check out @AskCindyGallop on Facebook, or search Facebook for "Ask Cindy Gallop." Enjoy making it rain.
It’s 2017, and yet women are still fighting for equality. Data suggests it will take until 2152 to close the gender wage gap, but it shouldn’t take a century to get what we want. We want more, and Refinery29 is here to help — because 135 years is too long to wait for what we deserve today.