About Wies:
Career Negotiation Expert &
Advocate For Women In Corporate
Hi! I’m Wies Bratby.
I’m a career negotiation expert who helps professional women secure the positions, recognition and compensation they deserve. But more than that, I’m an unapologetic advocate for women getting what they’re worth – and I’ve made it my life’s work to ensure that happens.
What makes me different?
I’ve sat on both sides of the negotiation table.
As a Global HR Director at a billion-dollar company, I made the hiring and compensation decisions. As a top international lawyer, I negotiated the largest settlement in Netherlands’ history. I know exactly how these conversations work from every angle, and I know precisely what women are up against.
From Top Lawyer to HR Director: Why I Know What Really Works
My path to becoming a salary negotiation coach wasn’t traditional, but it’s exactly why my approach gets results.
I started my career as a lawyer at the #1 law firm in the Netherlands, where I spent years mastering the art and science of negotiation. Not the theoretical kind – the high-stakes, multimillion-dollar kind where every word matters and positioning is everything. I became obsessed with understanding how leverage works, how to frame arguments that resonate, and how to secure outcomes that seemed impossible at the start. That focus on results led to a place on the negotiation team that secured the largest settlement in Dutch history.
And that strong foundation in negotiation gave me something no other career coaches has: a proven methodology to secure the best roles, salaries and set-ups – built on real-world wins, not just motivational theory.
Unfortunately, the differences between the firm and me eventually caught up with me and I left with massive burnout. Once I was ready to start work again, I wasn’t sure what to do. I ended up moving with my small family and created a new position (HR Director), in a new company (large multinational), in a new industry (education), in a new continent (Asia). This role and environment were a perfect fit for me and I thrived.
Importantly, this role also showed me where the real problem was.
As I travelled the world advising the C-suite and senior management about promotions, salaries, and leadership positions. I created roles and hiring processes, developed career development programs, and decided on offers and packages. I sat at the tables where the decisions were made about who advanced – and who didn’t.
And here’s what I witnessed, repeatedly, across every country and culture: brilliant women working twice as hard as their male colleagues, only to be rewarded with half the opportunities, less respect, and significantly lower salaries.
These women had the talent. They had the track record. They had everything required to advance – except one critical thing: they didn’t know how to advocate for themselves strategically.
They waited to be noticed instead of positioning themselves proactively. They accepted what was offered instead of negotiating what they deserved. They played by rules that were never designed to help them win.
Watching this happen – over and over – was infuriating. But it also showed me exactly what was missing.
The Gender Pay Gap Isn’t About Qualifications – It’s About Negotiation
Let me be direct: the gender pay gap, the glass ceiling, and the broken career ladder aren’t just about bias (though that’s absolutely part of it). They exist because women aren’t taught the strategic career navigation and negotiation skills that men learn informally through mentorship, networking, and societal permission to ask.
No one teaches this at university. MBA programs don’t cover how to negotiate on your own behalf. And most career advice for women is either too vague (“believe in yourself!”) or actively harmful (generic negotiation tactics designed by and for men).
The result? Talented, accomplished women hamster-wheeling their way through careers, working harder, delivering more, hoping someone will finally recognise their value.
That’s not a strategy. That’s a trap.
And I built my coaching practice specifically to break women out of it.
Why I Created Women of Agency: A Different Approach to Career Coaching
After years of watching exceptional women accept less than they deserved, I knew I had to do something.
And it had to be different. Traditional career coaching wasn’t cutting it. It focused on self-discovery and confidence-building but stopped short of giving women the concrete skills they needed. And conventional negotiation training? It was built by men, for men, completely ignoring the real dynamics women face at the negotiation table.
So in 2017, I left corporate, studied gender dynamics in communication at an in-depth level, and combined my legal negotiation expertise with my insider HR knowledge to create something that didn’t exist: a systematic methodology specifically designed for professional women navigating workplace gender dynamics.
I called it Women In Negotiation, or WIN for short, as my focus really was on the negotiation part of ensuring my clients’ (“WINners”!) successes. It soon turned into a much more comprehensive program, as I realised that the process leading up to the negotiation table, was incredibly important for the results there. How you see yourself and your place in this world, and how the other side sees you, determines to a large degree how well you will do in your salary and set-up negotiation. As such, we have more recently transitioned our name to Women Of Agency, as that better illustrates the monumental transformation my WINners (I’ll continue to lovingly call my clients that!) go through.
Today, the Women Of Agency coaching program teaches women how to:
- Position themselves strategically before opportunities are even announced
- Build relationships with decision-makers who can create roles specifically for them
- Navigate the unique challenges women face when negotiating (likability penalty, double bind, backlash effects, etc)
- Articulate their value in ways that resonate with stakeholders
- Negotiate compensation packages that reflect their true impact
In short, it ensures WINners fully embody their agency – the control they have over their entire lives and careers.
If that sounds like the work you need, find out more about my coaching programme.
This isn’t theory. It’s not motivational fluff. It’s a proven framework built on academic research, my own experience from both sides of the hiring table, and hundreds of successful client conversations and negotiations.
What Drives Me: Seeing Women Claim What They Deserve
I want every accomplished woman to be able to share her magic with the world – and get properly recognised and rewarded for it.
Not just once. Not just at one company. But throughout her entire career.
That means mastering the skills that create sustainable success: strategic positioning, powerful communication, and confident negotiation. It means building unshakeable self-belief so you can advocate for yourself the way you advocate for everyone else. And it means connecting with other ambitious women who open doors for each other.
Through my work, including corporate workshops for organisations like Google, Amazon, Roche, and INSEAD, as well as keynote speaking and my TEDx talk, I’ve had the privilege of transforming how thousands of professional women approach their careers.
But the work that matters most to me? Witnessing the individual transformations in real time in my program. The woman who finally asks for what she’s worth and gets it. The director who co-creates a VP role and skips a level entirely. The professional who stops apologising for her ambition and starts owning it. The penny that drops for the insecure overachiever that and how she can take up space.
Those moments – when a woman realises she doesn’t have to play small anymore – that’s why I do this work. I live for it, truly.
My Approach: Research-Backed Strategies + Real-World Results
My coaching philosophy is simple: you deserve practical tools that work,
not vague encouragement to “lean in.”
That’s why my program combines:
Insider Knowledge from
Both Sides
Having negotiated as a lawyer and hired and promoted as an HR Director, I know exactly what decision-makers are thinking, what influences their choices, and how to position yourself as the obvious choice.
Gender-Specific Negotiation Research
Academic studies prove that women face unique challenges when negotiating – the likability penalty, backlash effects, and the double bind. My strategies address these realities head-on with tactics that work within these constraints while still getting you what you deserve.
Proven Frameworks, Not Generic Advice
I give you the exact words to say in YOUR situation, the conversation scripts that work, and step-by-step processes you can implement immediately. No guessing. No improvising. Just clear, actionable strategies that work for YOU.
Deep Mindset Transformation
You can’t communicate your value powerfully if you don’t own it internally. We address the limiting beliefs, imposter syndrome, and socialised fears that hold women back, because confidence isn’t optional for negotiation success.
The result? Women who don’t just negotiate once, they master skills that serve them throughout their entire careers. And the compound effect of THAT… Oh la la!
Beyond Coaching: Building a Movement for Professional Women
When I started Women In Negotiation, I knew I was creating more than a coaching program. I was building a community.
Today, that community includes 800+ accomplished corporate women across industries, companies, and continents. These aren’t passive connections, they’re engaged professionals who actively create opportunities for each other.
Our network has led to board introductions, insider knowledge about upcoming roles, business partnerships, and countless door-opening moments that wouldn’t have happened through traditional networking.
This sisterhood is part of what makes the program so powerful. You’re not just learning from me – you’re learning from and with other ambitious women who understand exactly what you’re navigating. Women who are on the same journey as you, who inspire you and who hold you accountable.
Trusted by Leading Organisations Worldwide
My expertise in career advancement coaching and workplace negotiation has been recognised by global organizations including:
- Google – Corporate workshops on negotiation strategies for women
- Amazon – Leadership development and compensation negotiation training
- Roche – Career navigation strategies for female executives
- INSEAD – Guest lectures on gender dynamics in negotiation
I’ve also shared my methodology as a TEDx speaker and through keynote presentations worldwide, helping thousands of professional women understand that advocating for themselves isn’t selfish, it’s essential.
The Results Speak for Themselves
I don’t make promises I can’t keep. But I can tell you what consistently happens when women commit to this work.
My clients achieve dramatic career advancement, not through traditional job searches, but by co-creating opportunities designed around their strengths. They negotiate compensation packages that reflect their true value: the average salary increase they get from the program is 93%! They build careers that excite them instead of exhaust them.
And they do it without compromising who they are, without playing small, and without choosing between being liked and being respected.
The women I work with aren’t looking for quick fixes or motivational speeches. They’re committed to mastering the skills that create lasting change. And that’s exactly what I teach.
What Clients Say About Working With Wies
You Deserve More
Than What You’re Currently Getting
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already proven yourself repeatedly. You deliver results, lead effectively, and navigate complexity with expertise.
The question isn’t whether you’re capable of more. You already know you are.
The question is: are you ready to learn how to position yourself strategically, communicate your value powerfully, and negotiate what you actually deserve?
You have one life to live. Make sure you’re getting what you deserve from it.
