7 Rules For Commanding Your Worth on Equal Pay Day (And Beyond)

At 25, Lauren Simmons was the only Black woman and youngest full-time trader on the New York Stock Exchange Floor. When she started as an intern trader, she was only making well beneath a living wage in New York City.

“Other employees on the trading floor would say. ‘Oh, you’re supposed to start from the bottom.’ Which I agree, but then I don’t because I think people should be worth their time. But ultimately I told them, ‘You’re not even paying me minimum wage.’ And they were able to hike it up to $23,000. And that is how much I was making on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. I don’t think interns should not be paid. I do think people should be worth their time that they’re putting in.”

There’s very little The Fearless Fund co-founder and investor, Arian Simone can’t do. Including making room for more Black women to become investors.

“We make up less than a percent of the venture capital industry, not even just on the investment side. On the investor side, we need more African-American female investors in order to have more African-American female investments.. 2 percent of African-Americans [are investors] and of that, females are less than that. For those who are in the space, and they are looking to get into space, please even- feel free to email us like please connect. It’s so important that we stick together on this.”

Dia Simms, founder of The BRN Group and known for advancing Sean aka “Diddy” Combs’s wine and spirits brands (Ciroc is a household name, thanks to Simms), came into the Combs camp with a wealth of experience under her belt, from The Department of Justice to the intense world of radio sales. But her first role with Diddy was as an executive assistant.

“I was interviewed for a chief of staff role. He called me back and said, “Look, we’d like to hire you, but you have not managed really large teams before. Would you be willing to come on as an executive assistant?” I was like, “You can call me the janitor. This is how much money I need to make and I’ll be there tomorrow. Sometimes I think you’ve got to be willing to take a step back to take a step forward. I was like, ‘Look, this is a guy who I can learn from.’ And all my life is about in the pursuit of how much can I learn? Who can I learn from? And for me that was actually invaluable.”

In Minda Harts’s book, “The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table” she speaks loudly and clearly to Black women by offering wisdom and strategies on how to discuss the facts and figures. Spoiler: radical transparency is the way forward… “We make 62 cents on a dollar as Black women. White women make 80 cents and Asian women make around 90. So, that should be enough advice to remind you every time you think, ‘No, I can’t ask for more.’ Think about the disparity in pay right now with women in the workplace. The other thing I would say, do your research. Talk to people. Ask what people are making because the only way that we’re going to close this gap is if we are fully engaged in the negotiation process.”