HBR had an article that when women negotiate they're more likely to either have bad blood coming into the new company or they get refused for trying. I go through recruiters after experiencing it a few times. The recruiter gets a percentage so they get more by asking more. The few times I've had to negotiate that worked, it would be, "I was paid X at this job X years ago the last time I made that much. I'm sorry I can't afford to take that salary. I was expecting X after my last job. Can you see if you can find that numbr for me?" Then it sounds "nice" enough.