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Today is Black Women Equal Pay Day. What that means is that today represents how far into the year the average Black woman must work in order to earn what the average man earns in the previous year regardless of experience or job type. One of the reasons why I am working hard to build my own business is to ensure that I’m getting paid what I deserve but also so I can do my part to help close the wage gap for Black women. I’m sharing 3 ways that you can invest in Black women.
PAY BLACK WOMEN
Like anyone else, Black women have bills to pay. What’s worse is that Black women, on average, make $.62 cents to every $1 that a white man makes. Pay inequalities don’t stop in Corporate America; you can see pay inequalities in the Influencer market, Arts, Entrepreneurship, Tech, and anywhere else that a Black woman is working. Thus, it’s more than important to advocate for and pay Black women what they are owed.
BUY FROM BLACK WOMEN
Black Women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the US. However, even though they are the fastest-growing, Black women are typically locked out of getting capital to keep those businesses running. This is why it’s so important to support and buy from Black women because of this discrepancy. Buying from Black women-owned businesses will reduce the need to depend on banks to supply the capital they need.
PROMOTE & SHARE BLACK WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES
In order for steps 1 & 2 to occur, you have to promote and share businesses owned by Black Women. It’s one thing for you so support with your money but another thing when you actively refer people to their business. The beauty of promoting and sharing businesses owned by Black women is that it’s free99. We’re in a recession amidst a pandemic and times are tough for everyone. But you can still do a lot when you share with your group of friends or on your platform which businesses to support.
PHOTOS BY: TAMARA MARBURY and 10TH LETTER VISUALS
For years now, I’ve been more intentional about how I spend my money. Specifically, trying to emphasize spending more money on Black-owned businesses. With everything going on- I’m calling this year the year of reckoning- I want to contribute to the conversation and share Black women owned businesses.
So, for the rest of the year, and honestly my life, I am committing to spend more money and promoting Black-owned businesses. So without further ado- and in honor of Black Women Equal Pay Day- here are 120 Black women-owned businesses that you can invest in and support!
120 BLACK WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES YOU SHOULD SUPPORT
BEAUTY
HAIR
CLOTHING
ACCESSORIES
ONLINE SERVICES
20 MORE BUSINESSES
Images sourced from: 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 ||
This is by no means an exhaustive list. The businesses I’ve included are ones that I’ve supported or planning to support. I will be updating this list every so often so let me know if there’s anyone that I missed!
ANY OTHER BLACK WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES THAT I SHOULD HAVE ON MY RADAR?
This post was originally published in 2018 and was updated/recirculated for 2020.
SHOP THIS LOOK!
Look 1 // Tshirt: Abundance University || Skirt: WhoWhatWear x Target || Clutch: Amazon || Earrings: Dillards (similar here) || Watch: Michael Kors Parker || Lips: Dose of Color in Berry Me 2
Look 2 // Jeans Jacket: Old Navy (similar here) || Crop top: Tamara Mellon (gifted) || Watch: Micheal Kors Parker || Earrings: SheIn || Lips: Stila in Besos
