How much one gets paid in relation to their peers is solely based on negotiation, in the beginning of my career i was a poor negotiator, after several years i did my research, got competing offers are used those as leverage to get the best offer. I was never taught any of these skills, i learned from experience, and by pushing myself to do things i'm uncomfortable with (would you believe me if i said in the beginning of my career, i felt guilty taking money for doing something i love, this translated into basically low balling myself). This is not a man vs woman thing, this is a good negotiator vs poor negotiator thing.
> How much one gets paid in relation to their peers is solely based on negotiation
This is very US-specific and does not hold, for example, in Germany. I actually prefer the situation in Germany: this way, you can concentrate on getting better at programming instead of having to invest lots of time to become good at negotiation, too.
The thing is that rigid salary levels they have in Germany is a drawback for people who has strong people skills, understanding of business, focus on delivery, width of knowledge, etc. Those make huge difference in the value you can bring to a company.
I want to talk to a company and show them the value I bring. You cannot sell yourself higher, if all employers look at are years of experience, and dry description of what work you did.
