I didn't negotiate my first salary — hell, I didn't negotiate anything until I was 33 — 10 years into my career! When I started asking women for personal stories about negotiating, it was like pulling teeth to get them to open up. And often, when women do finally speak up, it's because they find out they're dramatically underpaid. A friend of mine who works at the executive level for a nonprofit discovered a male counterpart was making $25,000 more than her. Needless to say, her boss was shocked when she asked for a five-figure raise — and it took the organization three years to be able to pay her the same salary as that male colleague. But they did. File that one away, and remember that your role as negotiator is never really done. You should always speak up when you move into a leadership role.