A scorecard for women who stopped checking years ago
The conventional wisdom only goes so far, though. When you love what you do, your paycheck can easily drift to the back of your mind. A decent manager, meaningful work and colleagues you trust count for more than a few extra percentage points, and people who chase every dollar tend to end up unhappy. Plenty of women in the Sacramento region left for a 15% bump and now regret it, even though the new salary was higher.
Yet there's a counterpoint worth weighing: loving your job is precisely when you're most likely to be underpaid, since the people setting your pay can see how little you're pushing.
1. Loyalty is priced in
Your merit has little bearing on how your pay gets set. It's based on what it would cost to replace you, adjusted for how likely you are to walk out. McKinsey and LeanIn's 2025 report found that only 54% of companies treat women's advancement as a top priority, and the companies that don't are unlikely to volunteer a correction on their own. Three red flags to watch for: not a single conversation with anyone outside your company in three years. Every bump in your salary has matched the same fixed percentage. No one has ever come back with a counteroffer, since you've never signaled that you might walk away.
2. The work grew and the number did not
Research for the book The No Club found that at one professional-services firm, women logged roughly 200 more hours a year than men on non-promotable work, and were asked about 50% more often. If you love your job, you probably say yes faster than anyone. Here are three red flags: your duties grew over time, yet your job title stayed exactly where it was. You train colleagues you suspect earn more than you do. Scheduling, minute-taking and arranging off-site events keep getting handed to you, and no one has ever added up how much time that takes.
3. The market moved while you were busy
Posted salary ranges are now required in a growing number of states, so pay benchmarks are visible to anyone who takes a look, and you haven't taken one. Watch for these three red flags: a newcomer in Roseville or Folsom was hired at a salary above yours. When a recruiter in Elk Grove named a number, it surprised you. You likely have no clue what the salary band for your role looks like in the Sacramento region, let alone where you sit inside it.
Where the conventional advice still works
Walking away from work you care about for a 5% bump isn't a good trade. The guidance only becomes a problem when you use it to avoid looking at your numbers. Passion for your job and a clear sense of its market worth are entirely compatible. Women in Sacramento who get paid fairly in jobs they love are the ones who kept their pay current while staying put.
Better options ahead
Tally how many of the nine signs apply to you. If your count is three or lower, you're likely doing fine, so a yearly check-in should suffice. Four to six, and your pay is drifting; spend thirty minutes this week on a market check, pulling three posted ranges for your title in the Sacramento metro and noting the midpoint. Seven or more, and you're effectively subsidizing your employer, and affection for the job isn't a line item on your paycheck.
Next, during one of your regular one-on-ones, calmly raise this point with your manager: "I'd like to understand where I sit in the salary range for my level, and what it would take to reach the midpoint." Asking this doesn't mean you're planning to leave, even in a company in Rocklin or Davis. You're asking a question about the numbers, and a manager who sidesteps it has answered it anyway.
Of the nine signs, which ones did you recognize in your own situation?