Pay Black women.

Get Educated

• Hire Black women and pay them as much as you would a white man for the assigned work.

• Find a Black women creator that inspires you and support their work financially if you can. Also, share their work with others.

• Promote Black women in your company, contract with Black women-owned businesses (such as these 81 entrepreneurs and brands), and support those same businesses when making purchases in your personal life.

• Study intersectionality and participate in anti-racism, gender inclusion, and unconscious bias training.

“Black women saved us.” That’s a slogan of ill-advised praise that white people deliver for Black women whenever a horrorshow candidate loses an election. We heard it in 2017 when 98% of Black women helped to defeat Roy Moore’s Alabama senatorial ambitions, and it’s happening again with the most recent presidential election, during which 91% of Black women cast their votes for Joe Biden (USA Today, Yahoo News).

Beyond its inherent condescension, the statement perpetuates a dangerous narrative that Black women are magical mammies—obsessed with protecting their misguided white charges from themselves, at the expense of their own agency (HuffPost). Dulce Sloan, a correspondent for The Daily Show, said it best when she quipped, "you’re welcome, white people. But let’s be honest, we didn’t do it for you, we did it for ourselves” (Independent).

To be clear, Black women aren’t here to save the world out of altruism; they are working to protect themselves and their own families (Boston Globe). And yet, the “Strong Black Women” trope—which praises the group for serving as the Democratic Party’s most reliable bloc—persists, even as Black women are chronically denied financial opportunities (Essence, Refinery). Hard data reveals that Black women are underpaid nationally, receiving 62 cents on average for every dollar that a non-Hispanic white man is paid. Meanwhile, 80% of Black mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners in their families (Forbes, Atlantic).

A lack of financial investment has historically haunted Black women across every facet of life. Until 1988, women as a whole could not secure business loans without a male co-signer (Forbes). Meanwhile, only 0.5% of Paycheck Protection Program loans went to Black woman-owned businesses (Accountable, Entrepreneur). The tacit understanding is that Black women don’t deserve money and should be grateful to serve for free.

That’s what the Grammy’s confirmed when they asked Tiffany Haddish to host its pre-telecast ceremony without payment while covering her own expenses, including hair, makeup, travel, and accommodations (Variety). Haddish declined. The Grammy’s CEO ultimately apologized after the incident was made public, explaining that a talent booker had a "lapse in judgment” (Hollywood Reporter).

It is unimaginable that a similar lapse in judgment would have been extended towards Jim Carrey, Tom Cruise, or even the far less famous Russell Brand for hosting a three hour internationally covered event. While acknowledging that hosting would have given her “amazing” exposure, Haddish stated, “I don’t know if this might mean I might not get nominated ever again, but I think it’s disrespectful.”

British actress Kelechi Okafor agreed with a pointed message that rejected the fallacy that Black women should “be grateful” for exposure, particularly because they’ve already been forced to do free labor for over 400 years (Instagram). It’s the right response, but one that few Black women are free to make without facing severe repercussions.

Whether or not Haddish loses out on future nominations for her comedy albums, financially, she will be fine. But most Black women, when faced with this conundrum—such as consistently being asked to do more work than their white colleagues—feel forced to comply. This includes performing “work that’s important but undervalued” and without additional compensation (Harvard Business Review).

Though white women also face discrimination at work, Black women are subjected to "double jeopardies" due to the intersection of gender and race, which keeps them locked in lower positions (Semantic Scholar). And when consulting is involved, Black women are asked to offer their hard-won and unique expertise for free (Guardian). This plays out even now during a pandemic where Black women are at the forefront of essential work, at the risk of their own lives, but without the necessary remuneration to escape poverty, even though they continue to face the most severe financial losses (CNBC, CNN).

While speaking at a Red Door Foundation plenary on longevity in June 2019, trans activist Tori Cooper told the audience a story about being flown to New York to speak with the Ford Foundation about improving their outreach. During that talk, she confronted the room full of white men with the fact that she was not being paid. “All of you are being paid to listen to me speak,” she said, “and I deserve the same money because I have something that you need; that only I can say.”

The same is true for Black women everywhere. The struggle to uplift Black women in a capitalistic society cannot work if it does not include a viable financial argument. Here is one: rather than ask them to be grateful for the honor of participating, hire Black women and “don’t blame the pipeline.

As Nicole Cardoza wrote last year, despite the incredible educational gains that Black professionals have steadily made since 1980, unconscious bias discriminates against nonwhite people for their every difference, while arguing that they are unqualified or “do not fit the culture” (Anti-Racism Daily, Raconteur, HuffPost, Fortune). In addition to enshrining whiteness, this rationale ignores the benefits of greater racial diversity, which has been proven to make companies more money (Market Watch).

When hiring Black women, it is essential to pay them more because, by default, they are paid less. Companies can perform a compensation audit, be transparent about pay, raise the minimum wage, commit to equal pay, and eschew salary histories—which perpetuates the practice of underpaying Black women (American Progress).

If we are serious about eliminating racism in this country, redressing the history of devaluing Black women is critical. Otherwise, we will perpetuate the centuries-long practice of praising Black women while ignoring their needs and repressing their potential progress.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• On a national average, Black women are paid 62 cents for every dollar that a non-Hispanic white man is paid.

• Black women face double jeopardies over gender and race.

• Black women are consistently asked to do more work than their white colleagues without additional compensation.

• Greater racial diversity at workplaces is proven to earn companies greater revenue.