The line items most people never add up, from equity to parental leave
The number everyone fixates on is the base salary, yet it tells you the least about what a job is worth. Deloitte's 2025 survey of 7,500 women found that only 5% expect to stay with their employer for more than five years, so you will likely be weighing offers again sooner than you think. It pays to learn how to total them up properly now, whether your next role is in Towson, Columbia or downtown.
Imagine the bigger offer sits $20,000 above the smaller one on base. Illustrative math: a bonus target of 20% rather than 10% on $200,000 is worth $20,000 a year on its own, and a retirement match of 6% instead of 3% adds another $6,000. The smaller number can come out ahead before you turn to the second page of the letter.
Self-check
Score the weaker deal. Go down each line and mark yes or no, then tally the yeses at the end.
One. A bonus target that represents a bigger portion of base pay, and a company that hit or beat that target in each of the last two years, both count as yeses.
Two. Score a yes if the retirement match is richer, kicks in faster, or wins on both counts.
Three. Give yourself a yes if equity is on the table and you can explain the vesting timeline, the strike price or most recent valuation, and what happens to unvested shares should you be laid off.
Four. Mark a yes when parental or caregiving leave is longer and fully compensated, and when people at your seniority actually take it, not just have access to it.
Five. The title and reporting line sit one level above the other offer.
Six. The remote or hybrid arrangement appears in the offer letter, not just as a promise made in a hallway.
Seven. Health coverage costs you less each month once premiums, deductibles and what it covers for your family are added up.
Eight. Count it as a yes when paid time off is more generous and the people across the table from you clearly take their own.
Nine. The salary band has room above you, so your next two raises won't run into the ceiling of the range.
Ten. Give a yes if a signing or retention payment makes up for what the move costs you, like a forfeited bonus or unvested equity left at your old employer.
Interpreting your score
0 to 3: The larger figure takes the prize. The smaller offer is simply smaller. Accept the base you were offered and push for the remaining items, since the gap you measured in Baltimore's job market is precisely the leverage you need.
4 to 6: Closer to the mark than you might think, especially around Towson and Catonsville. That $20,000 difference is likely genuine, yet a fair amount of what the smaller offer includes is worth real money too. Assign a dollar value to every yes you marked, then lay out both totals next to each other. In plenty of cases, the first-year gap shrinks to less than $5,000 and eventually flips in the other direction by year three.
7 to 10: The lower offer comes out ahead on value. What you're really comparing is a stronger overall package wrapped in a more modest headline number. Since base pay is the simplest component to negotiate, start there.
What to do next
With a 0 to 3 score, return to the lower offer and say: "I'd like to accept, and I need the base to rise to X for the move to make sense." The only thing at risk is a number.
For a 4 to 6 score, create a two-column comparison that prices every item, then put one question to each employer: "Could you move at all on the item where you fall short?" The employer who responds with a specific figure is showing how badly they want you.
If you scored 7 to 10, accept the richer package and ask for the base gap to be closed partway in cash at signing and the rest at a dated review. "Would it work to close half that gap at signing and reassess the remainder after six months?"
Local women weighing offers can compare notes with peers at networking groups such as ATHENAPowerLink Baltimore, or get free, confidential help with pricing a package from the Baltimore Metropolitan Women's Business Center at Morgan State University if they are considering self-employment.
Which offer came out ahead on your scorecard, and was the result what you expected? Tell us.