A scorecard for women who stopped checking years ago

That standard advice is worth following, though only so far. If you genuinely enjoy your work, pay becomes less central. A supportive manager, meaningful projects and colleagues you trust count for a great deal, and fixating on every dollar can wear people down. Many women in Las Vegas who jumped ship for a 15% bump now find themselves less content, just on a bigger paycheck.

Yet there's a flip side. Loving your job is precisely when you're most likely to be underpaid, since the people setting your compensation can see that you're not going anywhere.

1. Loyalty gets priced in

Salaries aren't determined by what you deserve. They reflect what it would cost to replace you, adjusted for how likely you are to walk out. McKinsey and LeanIn's 2025 report noted that just 54% of companies treat women's advancement as a top priority, and the rest won't proactively fix the gap. Watch for three things: you haven't had a single outside conversation in three years, every raise has been the same standard percentage, and no employer has ever made you a counteroffer because you never gave them a reason.

2. Your responsibilities expanded while your salary stood still.

Findings from the book The No Club showed that at one professional-services firm, women logged roughly 200 more hours a year than men on work that doesn't earn promotions, and were asked for it about 50% more often. Because you care so much about the work, agreeing to every request feels natural. Watch for three things: your responsibilities expanded without a new title, you're training colleagues who you suspect earn more than you, and the planning, the note-taking and the offsite logistics keep falling to you while nobody tallies them.

3. The market shifted while you were heads-down

Posted salary ranges are now mandatory in a growing number of states, so market data is visible to anyone who checks, and you may not have. Watch for three things: a new hire at your level started above you, a recruiter quoted a figure that caught you off guard, or you don't know the pay band for your own role, let alone where you fall within it.

Here is where the conventional guidance still holds.

You shouldn't walk away from a job you love for an extra 5%. It only turns harmful when people use it as a reason to avoid checking the figures. Enjoying the work and understanding its price aren't in conflict. The women in Southern Nevada who earn fair pay in roles they care about are generally those who kept tabs on their compensation while remaining in their positions.

Your following step

Score yourself across the nine signs. Three or fewer, and you're likely fine; just review your pay once a year. Four to six, and your compensation is slipping; spend thirty minutes this week on a market check, pulling three posted ranges for your title in the Las Vegas area and noting the midpoint. Seven or more, and you're effectively subsidizing your employer, and affection for the work isn't a budget line.

At your next regular one-on-one with your manager, raise the matter in a calm, low-key way by saying: "I'd like to understand where I fall within the salary range for my level, and what it would take to reach the midpoint." You are not threatening to leave. You are posing a simple question about compensation figures, and if a manager deflects it, that deflection is itself a response.

Out of the nine items, how many did you manage to count up in Clark County?