Are you getting paid what you deserve? If not, have you been hesitant to speak up for fear of sounding ungrateful or coming off as “aggressive”? As women, these are worries society has placed upon us when it comes to us demanding for fair pay.

By now, I’m sure you have heard about the gender pay gap, the gap between what men and women are paid. Women earn just 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. This the result of many factors, including occupational segregation, bias against working mothers, and direct pay discrimination. Additionally, things such as racial bias, disability, access to education, and age come into play.

The gender pay gap is real, and unfortunately, it continues to affect women from across the world every day. And though we can’t change this, we can start making small changes by demanding a fair wage from our own employers.

Here are five ways you can demand the money you deserve from your employer without coming off the wrong way.

Get your facts straight. Research the market pay rate for your job. You can use sites like Glassdoor or Indeed to access a salary calculator and see the local market conditions for positions similar to yours in your area. If the salary is higher than what you make, then present these stats to your employer.

Highlight your contributions. Make a list of the goals you have accomplished for the company. Document costs savings, productivity improvement, superior staff development, important projects achieved, and ways in which you have contributed more than your job required.

Set a pay increase goal. Be prepared to state a specific number that rewards the contributions and additional responsibilities you have documented. Use all of your earlier research to make sure that you are asking for a pay raise that is reasonable for your job and performance.

Set up a meeting. Make sure to set up a meeting letting your supervisor know that you want to discuss compensation. You do not want to ambush your supervisor or blindside him/her. This will also give him/her an opportunity to prepare and consult with the Human Resources staff and his/her own industry sources.