(Photo via Flickr)

Over her working life, the average woman will get paid more than $1,000,000 less than a man in a similar position. There is still a wage gap between the earnings of women and men.

The Work $mart program is an interactive workshop designed to give working women the confidence and skills needed to earn fair compensation and obtain promotions. The program provides participants with information about how to determine comparable salaries in their field and geographic area, and further provides them with negotiating skills and an opportunity to negotiate through a highly engaging role-playing exercise.

There will be three Work $mart Workshops offered in April as part of Money Smart Week:

• 6-8:30 p.m. April 23 at the St. Patrick’s Partnership Center, 800 N. Tucker Blvd. in St. Louis
• 6-8:30 p.m. April 25 at the MU Extension Office, 260 Brown Road in St. Peters, Mo.
• 6-8:30 p.m. April 26 at the World Trade Center Building, 121 S. Meramec Ave. in Clayton, Mo.

Workshops are sponsored by University of Missouri Extension, University of Missouri–St. Louis, UMSL’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education, St. Charles (Mo.) Community College, Catholic Charities Housing Resource Center, Women’s Empowerment Center, YWCA and the Wage Project.

The workshop cost is $20 per person. Partial scholarships are available. Registration is required and space is limited. To register or for more information, call the MU Extension office at 636-970-3000 or email gellmans@missouri.edu.