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The biggest thing holding us back from higher salaries - six figures and beyond - might just be ourselves. Recent studies show that women, even at the highest levels of business, perceive negotiation negatively, while men almost relish it. And when it comes to negotiating pay it's costing women dearly.

The trouble starts early on. From the sandbox to the playing field to the classroom, boys encounter far more power and control over their environment than girls do. Boys are often rewarded more often for taking a stand and admonished less frequently for making aggressive demands. It's no wonder they grow up more eager to negotiate than women.

Though women hold nearly half of the management level jobs in the U.S. work force, on average, white women earn 78 cents for every dollar a male earns. Minority women earn even less, with African-American women making 67 cents and Latina women being paid 56 cents on the dollar.

Experts disagree about how and why the difference persists, despite the gains made by working women and the laws that protect women from salary discrimination. Statistics from the Department of Labor point to one partial explanation: men and women enter different professions. Another recent study, conducted in the United Kingdom, suggests women are more likely to hold nonprofit sector jobs and positions in smaller private firms that simply pay less.

READ: Negotiating to Win

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