LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR 2019 FUND

We partnered with the team behind The Working Girl to give the black women in the corporate world some advice to help you keep pushing despite the obstacles.

In school, my mom would tell me, “I send you to school to learn, not to make friends”…

These are a few of things that everyone thinks about the night before they walk into a room of people that can define their financial fate. But one thing that black women may think about, more than others, is not just their job credentials and what they can bring to the table, but their looks--mostly their skin color.

Now is the time for resolutions, fresh starts and goals. It’s always good to categorize your goals. So if you already have your new physical goals, it’s not too late to set new mental or financial goals.

I learned to list everything I do at a job.

Allow your Black Girl Magic to shine through in a corporate world. 

This incident reminded me that when it comes to a job, no one cares about your qualifications or dedication to the organization. There are rules and procedures to be adhered to, and if you step outside of those, your employer holds the power to end your livelihood in a matter of days—or less.

As Black women, we are conditioned to believe that anything we receive beyond the bare minimum is a blessing. We are not taught our true value and are not taught to require that everyone we interact with treat us as though they recognize that value.

While watching the women's U.S Open Final, I could not help but recognize myself while watching two black women play against each other, both that were powerful and inspiring in their own way. I saw myself as both Serena and Naomi.

Eventually, I decided I didn’t want to settle for just a regular part-time job, and decided to become an entrepreneur and start businesses.

The burnout affects us all. It happened to me. I was at a company where I loved my boss but the work was limiting.

Imagine walking into a room with 1,000+ beautiful black women smiling, laughing, and hugging each other.

Got an interview coming up? Or just want to practice before you get a call back? Check out these 20 interview questions: what they really means and how to answer them. 

Not enough people negotiate their salary; maybe because it's not explicitly a part of the on-boarding process. Most often, employers don’t mention it, but you can. After following Your Corporate Black Girl, I found confidence in just “asking” for a salary increase.

Symone D. Sanders is a political commentator for CNN and was the topic for discussion when she received a message from a follower who criticized her for wearing long nails on television, especially on a popular and global news network.

With the hustle and bustle of New York City, this main character is a young black woman that has her head up high for a great job in the television business.

You keep hearing these stories about Black women being the most educated group in the United States. Right, we go to school, graduate, and get degrees. But that does not seem to be enough.

The office is like a second home, literally. And although the office probably provides custodians to help tidy up the place, us as employees have due diligence to keep our office spaces clean.

The 911 call was an unconscious sign for "help".

When we talk messy, what are we talking about? Is it the texture of black hair? Is the hair that naturally grows out of our heads inherently "messy"? What is the appearance of a employee with neat hair? Is it straight? 

However, there were uncomfortable comments, stares and advances made that pierced my chest and made me dread my work environment.

In fact, it seems, on the surface, that employers would rather hire people they need to spoon feed than a free thinker.

When we spend way too much time in the office, we start to adopt workplace personalities we never thought we would have. Find out what type of corporate black girl you are.

For the longest time black young women in professional spaces have been taught to keep quiet and wait to be told what to do.  We are also often afraid of coming across as angry, loud mouths or too woke (a term used to intermediate black women who dare to stand up against injustices faced by black women in the working environment).

The debate of diversity is one that we should be having, it is important not only make sure that women are properly portrayed in mainstream media, but also to make sure that the industry is opened up for women to become decision makers. 

Often as human beings, we are too busy responding to argue, or just to simply respond, rather than to listen and understand.